


The Bird and the Spider

by TheDoeDuchess



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Because who doesn't love high school sweethearts, Black Character(s), Black Family, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Character of Color, Female Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Interracial Relationship, Male Character of Color, May or may not have a happy ending, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 22:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 48,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10397679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoeDuchess/pseuds/TheDoeDuchess
Summary: "Girl meets Boy. Boy meets Girl. Spider meets Bird. Bird meets Spider."Eileen Duncan just wanted to be a normal girl after moving into New York City with her older brother. However, after a chance encounter with the webslinger himself, she is inspired to use her hidden abilities to help as White Eagle! As she tangles with high school crushes and crime fighting duties, a mysterious foe from her past returns to threaten everything she has come to cherish. And she'll need Spider-Man's help to stop them.





	1. The Girl Goes to School

**Author's Note:**

> First work to ever post on here! I hope you guys enjoy it! Because I know I'm going to enjoy writing it, lmao. But don't be deceived, these two lovebirds aren't going to like each other soon, hahaha!

A car pulls up to the side of a school and stops at the curb. Setting it into park, the young man driving takes in a deep breath and looks over to his side. "You ready for this?"

The girl sitting next to him sighs, her hands clenching into fists. He can tell what emotion she's feeling right now - complete and utter anxiety. "I-I don't know, Tanner..." she stuttered. "Maybe I can just skip for today?"

He scoffs with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, come on! You can't skip your first day of school. It won't be that bad!"

"Easy for you to say - you never had to go!"

"We've been over this, kiddo. It's time that you stretch your horizons! Go to school, make friends, survive exams, get a diploma, go to college-"

"Why can't you do those things?" She pouts at him.

"Because I'm not the one who's 15 years old, Eileen."

She pulls the lever on the side and the car seat moves backwards, allowing her to lay and fold her arms over her chest. "Just 'cause you said that ridiculous name, I'm _definitely_ not going now."

Tanner chuckles, "Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Ellie. Look, this'll be good for the both of us. You told me you wanted to be normal. Well-" He gestures to the teens who are filing into the high school. Some have smiles bright on their faces as they're walking in with friends, while there are others who look like they've entered the gates of Hell. "This is normal!"

"Being stuck in one building for 8 hours all day with people who probably won't like me doing nothing but reading books? How is that normal?"

"Thems the breaks. I can't change the system. Now move the seat back up."

Ellie huffed once again and sat her seat back up, but still glared at her grinning brother. Sure, she wanted to be normal - that's what she asked about a week ago after they had arrived in New York City. They sat down in their little apartment, talked about it, and agreed that Ellie should go to high school. Even though Ellie knew practically everything and anything, she (of course) needed a diploma to look good to colleges that she would go to in the future. At first, the concept sounded great! Until she watched all those high school movies beforehand that made her certain she made the wrong choice.

"What if I embarrass myself?"

"Then try again tomorrow."

"I probably won't make any friends!"

"Nice girl like you? Psh! You'll probably have two friends by the end of the day!"

"I could get bullied!"

"You'd kick their ass."

"That would lead to a suspension, you know." Ellie gasps! "Oh! Maybe I should get into a fight!"

"Okay, Ms. Pessimist," Tanner sighs and holds his hand out. "How about a deal? You go to your first day of school, don't like it, and I'll consider taking you out."

She raises an eyebrow. "And if I _do_ like it?"

"Well then, I get to say I told you so. And there's nothing better than being right!" Tanner pauses. "Wait, no - steak is like right next to being right. So! I get to say I told you so _and_ you have to make steak dinner tonight... _if_ you like school. Deal?" Ellie snorts but smiles, slapping her hand into his. "Deal. But I should have you know I'm tough to impress."

"That has to be the single most greatest lie you have ever told. Now get out of the car and enjoy your first day! Love ya, kiddo!"

The young girl rolls her eyes once again and grabs onto the strap of her backpack tight, almost like a coping method. She quickly opens the door and jumps out. But, before she can protest or say anything else, her brother's tires screech on the pavement and he's speeding off back to work. The scowl on her face is immediate. "Love you too," she mutters bitterly. Her snow white hair whipped around her as she turned around and focused on the school's sign.

 _Midtown High School_. The beginning of a new chapter. As her brother said to her over and over. She smiles lightly. Maybe this won't be so bad, she thinks.

Two girls walk past Ellie and one bumps into her, making her glare at the back of their heads. "Who wears a neon jacket anymore? What is she? Stuck in the 90s?"

The girls giggle to one another as they walk through the door, but even at so far a distance Ellie could hear them. She grips the handles of her backpack even tighter, taking a deep breath.

_Just for today. Just get through today, and you're out of here. What could go wrong?_

* * *

Of all the things to think before she walked into the school.

The entire hallway was packed and rowdy, a bunch of kids having various conversations with each other while many others ran through the hallways trying to get to their destinations. It seemed just too much for her. "Is this how it is every day?" Ellie wondered to herself.

She takes a timid few steps further, and no sooner after did a student come running head first into her. They both fall to the floor, books and paper scattering.

"Hey! Watch where you going!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Ellie quickly stammered out, beginning to grab the other person's books. "I-I didn't see-"

"Yeah, yeah," the girl next to her sighs. She readjusts her glasses on her face before grabbing her books as well. "You didn't see me. Wouldn't be the first." Ellie cocked her head to the side at that comment, but handed the other girl her books. They both quickly stood up and gave each other a once over. "Huh. New here?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"You get used to seeing new kids when it comes to my line of duties. Follow me."

Ellie followed the girl down the vibrant hallway, passing by what seemed to be an intimidating crowd. Gradually, the noise that raised her dread just became noise, and she felt the grip on her backpack straps loosen. After walking for a bit, however, the two stopped at a set of lockers. Ellie's guide turned around and smiled. "These set of lockers aren't taken yet, so feel free to put your stuff in here."

"Thank you so much!" Ellie hummed, cocking her head to the side. "What's your name?"

"Holly Lee. Vice President of the Student Council, sophomore, and Midtown High's residential hall monitor. It's as interesting as it sounds." Holly holds a hand out to Ellie, and the two shake. "You?"

"Eileen Duncan. New town girl, also a sophomore, completely freaked out of her mind! I prefer Ellie though. It sounds nicer."

Holly chuckles. "I can relate. Holly is so...plain."

"But it sounds nicer on the tongue!"

"Could say the same about Eileen. Always liked the Irish! Or was it French?" Holly thinks for a moment, but just shrugs. Ellie laughed for the first time that day, grinning from ear to ear. She opened her new locker and placed her jacket and backpack in, taking out her books and pencils. "Anyways, you got your class schedule? I can lead you to your morning session."

Ellie shifts and digs her hand into her back pocket. She pulls out the folded piece of paper and hands it to Holly, who opens it. Her long, black locks hide her expression from Ellie, but she is sure she heard the Vice President squeal very loudly.

"We have the same schedule!"

"Really?" Holly pulls out her schedule and the two do a side-by-side comparison. "Wow, no kidding. This might not be so bad after all!" _Make a new friend_. Looks like Tanner was going to win this bet.

A boy skate boards pass the two girls and Ellie's schedule goes flying out Holly's hand. "What the-!" Holly shouts, running after him. "Skylar, you prick! No skating in the hallways! That's not permitted!"

The skater boy laughs. "Make me, nerd! Skate 'til I die! Woo hoo!"

"That little son of a-" Holly's growls and seems to take a runner's starting position before jumping up like lightning, whipping past Ellie like this was a regular occurrence. "Meet you at class, Duncan!"

Ellie calls out after Holly, "Wait, Holly! I don't know where the class is!"

"You'll just have to get there without me!" Holly screams over her shoulder. "Second floor, first turn, third to your right! Don't worry! I'll be there soon!"

And, just as quick as she came, Holly was gone around the corner. A few seconds later, Ellie could hear a resounding thud from the other hallway and shakes her head. "Looks like she caught her man," she sighs. "Oh well. Guess I'm on my own for now." Kneeling down to the ground, she goes for her schedule. Another hand brushes against hers and she looks up.

"Hi." She smiles.

The boy in front of her stares back, stuttering. "U-Uh, hi! Hi there! Is...is this yours?" He holds out her schedule.

Ellie takes it with a gentle touch, and their hands make contact once again. The two hold each other's gaze for what seemed to be forever - brown looking into... _yellow_? They seemed hazel, but her eyes looked suspiciously yellow. But not a sickly kind, _a warm kind_. The warning bell rung throughout the hall, and the kids who were still talking immediately took to walking to their classrooms.

The two cleared their throats and laughed nervously. Ellie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I...I have to get to class. Thanks for the assist."

She spun around and begun walking to her first class. The boy stood for a few more moments and shook his head. "No problem! I mean, just giving a helping hand! It's cool!" He laughs to himself, but she's already gone and can't hear his words.

"Peter!"

Peter Parker finally tore his eyes away from the retreating girl to his best friend, Ned Leeds. "Come on, man," Ned placed his hands on his knees. "We gotta get to class or we'll be late!" Ned finally notices that his friend has a large grin on his face. "What's the grin for?"

"What grin?" Ned folds his arms and Pater pats the big guy's shoulder. "I'm just thinking it's gonna be a great new school year!"

"Right, sure you are. Who was the girl?"

* * *

Ellie finally found the classroom she was looking for after about 5 wrong turns and opens the door slowly, peeking her head into the room. The entire classroom seems to stop, and the feeling of terrible anxiety begins to rise again. The teacher turns around from the chalkboard and folds his arms over his chest, raising his eyebrow. She can feel the tension pressing on her like a dull knife. "Can I help you, young lady?"

"Yes, umm...I think this is my class?"

"You realize that class started ten minutes ago?"

She winces at his irritated tone and bows her head. "I'm sorry, sir. I got lost. The floor is just so big, and the classes look almost-" 

He leans back against his desk. "You giving me an excuse?"

"No!" Ellie exclaims. "I mean, yes! Well, kind of? It won't happen again!"

The teacher sighs through his nose and shakes his head. "Let's hope so. I'm assuming you're the new student, right? Miss..." He grabs his class roster and begins to flip through the pages. Pausing at the fifth page, he skims through and looks back at her with a small smile. "Duncan. Is that correct?" Ellie nods, and he closes the book with a sharp slam. The whole class winces along with the white haired girl this time. "Let's not make being late a custom, okay?"

"Of course! Sorry, again." Ellie holds her books to her chest as she looks around for a seat. An empty one is in sight, and it's right next to Holly. Her new friend gives her a sympathetic look and gestures for her to sit down quick. Ellie moves, but apparently not fast enough.

"Miss Duncan! Can we start class or will you not sit down?" Ellie quickly goes to take her seat with a small 'Sorry'. "And don't say sorry again!" The class murmurs with giggles and laughter. So, naturally, her head plops on the desk with an audible sigh.

"Don't worry," Holly whispered to Ellie. "That's Mr. Manic. He's always like that regardless if you're late or not." Ellie's eyes widen and she looks at Holly. "Yes, girl. That's his real last name."

Ellie was slowly starting to regret asking Tanner to let her go to school. A rustle sounds beside her, and looks to her side to see a note on her desk. She opens it with a puzzled look. ' _Glad you found your way!_ ' She looks around to find the source of the note, and her eyes finally meet a familiar pair that she met before. He gives her a small smile and wave, the other running through his brown hair. Ellie gives him a wave back, a smile forming on her face as well. Holly looks from Ellie to the boy and begins to lightly chuckle. "Oh my god."

"What? What is it?" Ellie quietly asks.

"When'd you meet Parker?"

Ellie raises an eyebrow. "Who?"

Holly simply smiles and nods to who Ellie was waving to. He already turned back around and was taking notes. "That's his name. Peter Parker. One of our many Midtown High nerds. He's like one of the smartest kids in school. Apart from myself, of course." Ellie glanced back to him and blinked. She looked him over - his shoulders were broad, but his body wasn't too muscular. His eyes were trained to his paper, the tip of his tongue seemingly sticking out in concentration. "He's pretty cute, too. Only thing is he is super obsessed with Liz Allen. Most popular girl in school, Student Council president. A girl all of the boys would love to get with, 'cept she's with the class prep, Flash Thompson. You know the deal." Ellie frowns. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger! All I'm saying is, he's a good guy if you're interested in him."

"I'm not interested in him. He just helped me out earlier, is all."

"Uh huh. And I'm the Queen of Tibet." 

"Miss Duncan! Miss Lee!" Mr. Manic calls out.

Ellie looks to the front and sees a foot-tapping Mr. Manic. "Would you like to share your discussion with the class?" The two girls shake their heads. "Please don't let your good-natured intentions drag you down, Miss Lee. Miss Duncan can get by herself." He stares at Ellie intently before turning back to the board. She quickly throws up her middle finger before he turns back around, putting a mocking smile on her face while Holly covered her snickering mouth.

 _She was so winning this bet_.


	2. The Girl Makes Friends

"You've got to do it. There's no other way."

"But I don't want to!"

"I didn't want to either, but just climb on and go with it. You don't have to go too far."

"Nope, not doing it."

"Coach is going to eat you alive if you don't climb this rope, Duncan!"

Standing in the gymnasium near a thin, tight white rope, Ellie shakes her head at Holly who sighs and rubs at her temples. For the start of the semester, the gym teacher apparently wants the class to climb the rope to see how far people would go. Apparently it was to test their physical fitness and endurance. And Ellie was, of course, the very last one to be brought to the test. The ivory haired young girl was not having it though.

"Would you just grab the rope already, Duncan?" The gym teacher, who the students call Coach, calls out behind her. "Just climb as high as you can go."

"I have a health condition!" Ellie cries out.

"Where's your doctor's note?"

"...I forgot it?" Laughter erupts from the small class, but Coach isn't having it. "Look, I don't see how going up that rope proves anything about my endurance. I mean, I could go kick boxing or something! Or swimming! Why not swimming?"

"Either you climb the rope, or you get an F for the day."

"...Well, I mean, _one_ F isn't gonna hurt me."

" _Miss Duncan!_ "

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" Ellie looks back up at the rope and feels an uncomfortably cold sweat taking hold of her. One of her brother's rules is repeated in her mind - _Don't bring attention to yourself. Act normal._ She never really played as an actor, but it couldn't be that hard. Holly pressed a reassuring hand to Ellie's back. "If you fall, I'll try and catch you," she says, pushing her glasses up to her smiling face.

Ellie smiles back, but it doesn't ease her mind one bit.

She took a hold of the rope and jumped on, and then jumped back off. She turns around and gives a slight bow. The entire class roars once again, but Ellie sees Coach gritting her teeth.

"Alright, class clown! Climb the damn rope! We don't have all day!"

She turns around and grabs again, pulling herself on with "effort". She struggles up the rope with clumsy movement, the rope moving with her body. Some watch with worry; others in amusement. She makes it up to a good five feet or so and wobbles. The ropes sways slightly with her body as she almost loses her grip. "Woah!"

"Easy, Duncan! Take it easy! You're doing great, just don't look down!"

She can hear Holly slapping a hand to her cheek and sighing under her breath. "Why would you say that?"

Ellie, of course, looks over her shoulder and sees the others way down below. Not too far, but far enough that it would make an acrophobic person queasy. Normally, this wouldn't bother her, but she had to remember to act like it was. _Time to put on a show_ , she thinks to herself. _That'll show Ms. Muscle Head_. Her eyes widen and she puts a hand to her forehead, dramatically crying out. "Oh, no! It's too high! _Way_ too high! I think I'm gonna fall! Waaaaah!" She swings back and forth for added effect, crying hysterically.

"No, no no no! Don't do that! Do not fall!" The gym teacher curses under her breath and runs over to her office. "I'll get the mats! Just stay right there!"

The girl looks back down and smirks mischievously. Now, she was sure she could have killed in Hamlet if this was on the stage. Pleased with herself, she goes to slide down but finds that she can't. Because her sweaty hands instantly slip away from the all-too tight rope. "Oh, crap!" she shouts out. Everyone below gasps and she's certain she heard someone faint on the ground. Her hand tries to reach back out, failing. Her body begins to tumble all too fast. She could stop it - _should_ stop it - but can't! Her eyes close tight, waiting for the impact on the hard, shiny gymnasium floor.

But she never feels it. Instead, the impact felt warm. Fleshy, even? She could hear gasps and footsteps all around her.

Did Holly catch her? Oh god, did she _break_ her?! _Nice job, Ellie! Real nice! First day of school and you squash your new friend!_

Ellie opens her eyes and sees that someone did catch her. But it certainly wasn't Holly. She felt relieved, only for it to be replaced with mortification. It was the guy she met early that day! What was his name? Peter Parker? He was lying beneath her with his eyes tightly closed, but he didn't seem to be in pain.

She quickly jumps off of him moving to his side. "I am so sorry! Oh man, are you okay? I am such a klutz!"

Peter laughs lightly, sitting up and holding his head. "No, no, I'm fine! It's okay."

"A-Are you sure? Your head-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry. I'm just glad I caught you in time. That probably would've been worse than a little bump on the head."

A smile erupts on her face, and she tries not to giggle. Fails miserably, of course. A murmur goes through the class and Ellie's ears pick up, hearing a couple of boys in the back talking to each other. "Damn, how'd Parker get there so fast?" "Beats me, man. Thought he was back here with us." "Would've been hilarious seeing her fall. Man, Puny Parker ruins the day again!"

Neither of them know it, but they're both thinking the same thing. _Got to be careful next time._ "Well, thank you Peter."

"Wait, how do you know my na-"

" _Parker! Duncan!_ "

The class turn to see Coach running in full sprint with mats. She drops them to the floor and rushes over to Peter, helping him up. "I thought I said hold on to that rope, Duncan! If Parker here didn't catch you, we'd probably 've sent you to the hospital!"

Ellie looks down at the ground. "I-I know. I'm really sorry."

She can hear a sigh from the gym teacher. "Well, it can't be helped. Just glad that nothing broken. Speaking of which, Parker! To the nurse's office on the double!" Peter opens his mouth to object. "That is an order! Last thing we need is a student with a concussion running around. Move it." Peter looks to Ellie one last time with a small smile before walking towards the door to go to the nurse's office. "And someone pick up Skylar and take him too! He's fainted...again!"

Holly stands next to Ellie as she watches Peter go. "Knight in shining armor saved the day again, huh?" An immediate shove to her shoulder. "What? First day of school and you're already crushing on someone!"

"For the last time, _it's not a crush_!"

But she wasn't going to deny she was feeling... _something_ towards him.

* * *

Ellie and Holly moved slowly through the lunch line with their trays in hand, looking at the first day selection for meal time. And they were not impressed - not surprising, considering these were school lunches.

For Ellie, it was odd looking at all of the different foods that were on display, but didn't look like how they looked outside of the school. For example, the mashed potatoes did not look too mashed at all and the fried skin on the chicken tenders looked a little too cooked. And those were only two of the ten selections of entrees and sides for the free lunches. The paid lunches, however, looked as fresh as they would when you order them from a restaurant. "Why do the paid foods look better than the free foods?"

"Don't you know, Duncan? In this society, everyone knows the poor kids have to take the gross food and the rich kids get better looking food!" Holly looks from Ellie to the lunch server. "Sorry, Tim. Know you're doing your job." He nods and gives her a big scoop of mac and cheese, which...actually looked better than the rest of the food. "Mac and cheese is my favorite. He always saves me the good bits."

"Do you know everyone in this school?" Ellie asks, holding her tray up for some as well. It falls onto it with a 'plop!' sound, and the aroma smells heavenly.

"Well, yeah! As Vice President, it's practically my duty to help the President go around and get the 411 on what's happening and what needs to be addressed. So, I get to know a lot of people."

"You must have a lot of friends," Ellie mused.

Holly bites her bottom lip and nervously chuckles. "No, um...not really. You're actually one of the handful. I mean, that is, if you want to be friends!"

"Of course I do! Who else is going to help me get the best bits of macaroni?"

Holly bumps into Ellie playfully. "Only using me for my connections, huh? Duncan, you manipulator! I love it."

The two walk towards an empty table towards the corner of the room, a bit away from the overall rowdy bunch. There were cliques among cliques, as yellow eyes surveyed the room. Ellie didn't know how Holly was even able to know this many people, let alone handle all of...this. To her, it was going to be pretty hard to really find a really fit in this place.

But at the moment, she was comfortable being where Holly was. In the middle, in a way.

"Hey, hey! Check it out," Holly nudges Ellie. "Your knight's coming over!"

 _Ah, shit_ , was her first immediate thought. Ellie looked to where Holly was pointing at and, sure enough, Peter Parker was coming over with his lunch tray and a friend of his. He was a bit taller than Peter and had a smirk etched on his face, while Peter's awkward smile was opposite. "Ladies," Ned was the first to talk as they both sat down.

"Ned Leeds. Residential Lego nerd."

Ned takes in a dramatic breath and holds a hand to his heart. "Holly Lee, I'll have you know constructing Lego pieces to form the Death Star is more than just being a 'Lego nerd'! It's art!"

"Uh huh. Still a Lego nerd."

Ellie and Peter stared at each other, echoes of smiles on their faces. Holly rolled her eyes. "Okay! Official meeting! Ellie Duncan, meet Peter Parker. Our very own Midtown High's second place genius!" Ned raised an eyebrow. "Second place?"

"He will be this semester. Mark my words! Anyways, Parker, meet Ellie Duncan! The new girl you've been helping all day!"

"Holly!" Ellie hissed, but Peter just laughed. "It's nice to meet you, Peter."

"Likewise, but we've met each other all day," Peter smirked.

Ellie grins, "You know what I mean." The two slap their hands together and give a firm shake, smiling brightly. Pulling back, Peter clears his throat. "So, um, what brought you to Midtown High?"

"New town, big city. My brother always wanted to come to New York, so we moved into a small apartment and I enrolled here. There's really nothing all that exciting about it."

"Where'd you move from?"

"Uh, Chicago. Another big city, he usually likes those."

Holly stuffed a fork full of mac and cheese in her mouth, her words muffled. "Duh yam muvm abolt?"

Ned sighs. "English, Holls."

She swallows the food down her mouth and burps lightly. "'Cuse me. I said do you move a lot?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah. I don't like it, but his...job makes us move a bunch. He's hoping this is our last stop."

Holly smirks and gives Ned and Peter a mischievous look. "Sure he's not the only one." Ned catches on and snickers, while Peter looks back and forth from Holly to Ned. "What?"

Neither of them got the chance to explain.

A loud slam echoes throughout the lunchroom, and the next thing Ellie and Peter could hear is a crowd screaming the words, "Fight, fight, fight!" The group all gave each other confused looks before jumping up, going to see what the commotion was. They pushed through the crowd and, sure enough, there was a large boy with a varsity football jacket that was on top of a cowering boy who was wearing a plaid shirt. Books and chocolate milk was spilled all around them.

"Holy shit," Ned exclaimed. "That's Griffin Clyde and Chase Newman! Aren't they best friends? What the hell are they fighting for?"

Peter shook his head. "You think Griff found out about Chase and Emily?"

"Don't know, don't care! I know it needs to stop!" Holly huffed, pushing past the last of the students in her way and running over to Griffin. "Griffin Clyde, you get off of him this instant!"

Griffin didn't even look up when he felt Holly's hand on his back, He just lifted up and pushed the body that was on him off. He threw a hard hand back and Holly was knocked to the floor, hard. The entire crowd gasps in surprise. "Holly!" Ellie shouted, balling her fists and rolling her sleeves up. Almost as fast as it happened, she charged straight towards the hulking jock.

Peter tries to grab at her before she rushes off, but runs close behind. "Ellie, wait!"

She doesn't really think about it - can't think. All she's thinking about is Holly on the floor, holding her arm. Focusing on the jackass who's standing over her with a stupid look. It makes her angry, enrages her. She doesn't register the head-butt collision to the side of someone's body with a loud pop.

And she definitely doesn't realize that she, _a little 5'3 teen girl_ , just knocked over a 200+ pound jock like it was nothing.

The once loud, instigating crowd gets quiet, but Ellie pays no mind. She quickly rushes over to Holly, along with Peter and Ned, and helps her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah...How did you do that?"

"Uh..." Ellie looks over her shoulder to see Griffin holding his side in agony, howling out on the lunchroom floor. "The skull is the strongest part of the human body?" It looked like Chase got thrown down too, and he was unconscious.

"You literally knocked into him. With you head?"

"Yeeeeeeah?"

Holly's perplexed look slowly turns into a wide, tired grin. "Fucking sick, Duncan. You're crazy."

" _Everyone move_!" The crowd break in the middle as Principal Morita stomps onto the scene. He looks at the two students on the ground, and then back up at the four misfits. Ellie stepped in front of the others. "Who did this? Huh?"

"P-Principal Morita, it was me." Ellie weakly raises a hand. "But I can expla-"

Morita shakes his head. "To my office, Miss Duncan. Now." Peter steps beside her.

"Principal Morita! I helped her!" He ignored Ellie's surprised gasp, and her hard tapping on his shoulder telling him to stop. "What happened was that they were-"

"Alright, you both can tell me what happened at _MY_ office!"

"Principal Morita! This is all just a big misundersta-"

"In my office! Both of you, _now_!"

* * *

Peter leans back against the office chair with his hands in his pockets, counting the various square tiles in the ceiling. It helped pass the time while he and the girl he met just today sat in the principal's office waiting for their guardians to come and pick them up for the day. Principal Morita was a bit perplexed at the entire situation, so he told the duo to wait in his office while he went to talk to Holly and Griff about what happened. Peter felt safe, at least.

However, Ellie just couldn't stop pacing around Morita's office desk.

"I can't believe I've gotten you into trouble _twice_ today," Ellie holds her face in her hands as she walks around. "This is mortifying!"

Peter merely smiles. "Technically, it was only _once_. I just had to go to the nurse's office for gym class."

"Ha! Sure, yeah. I almost break your head _and_ almost get you suspended on the first day of school! That makes everything a lot better, really." She groans, slamming back down on the chair opposite to Peter's. "Jeez, Louise, I'm bad at this school thing."

"You're not bad! I-If it makes you feel better, this was actually the best first day of school ever. For me, at least."

"What?! But...but...but we're in the principal's office!"

"True."

"We could get suspended! Or worse, _expelled_!"

"I'm sure Principal Morita will go easy on us. Technically, this is our first ever offense. Plus Griffin deserved it after pushing Holly - it was self defense."

"Well, my brother and your mom is probably going to kill both of us when they get here!"

"Aunt, actually! But no, I don't think so. She'll probably be super pissed though."

Ellie blinks at Peter, giving him a pensive look over. "You're really weird, Peter Parker."

Peter rubs the back of his neck. "That's...not the first time I've heard that."

He hears her gasp and curse under her breath, trying to find the words to fix her previous statement. "Not a bad weird though! Not at all! It's good! Really good. You're cool, in your own way."

"Cool?" Peter's wide eyes look over at her. Ellie gives him a timid smile. "Yeah! You've been helping me all day today, and not once have I helped you or given you any reason to help me. So, to me, you're cool."

He cleared his throat, . "I-I was just being friendly. You're new here and all."

"Still, thanks Pete."

"You're welcome, Ellie." The two teens smile at each other, comfortable in their own companies. "Hey, um, what are you doi-"

The door to Morita's office opens and Peter's Aunt May walks in and immediately her eyes set onto Peter's, pursing her lips and placing a hand on her hip. Tanner is close behind, his arms held tightly over his chest. "Well, well, well," Tanner hummed. "Look what we have here." Peter smiles sheepishly, while Ellie places her head in her hands with another loud groan. Principal Morita scooted passed the guardians of the two teens and shook his head with a sigh.

"Well, from all witness accounts, it looks like you two were only trying to help Miss Lee in that fight. I will be sending Mr. Clyde and Mr. Newman home on suspension for three days. However!" He gives Ellie and Peter a stern stare. "Next time, if something like that happens, I want you both to come to me first. Not take matters into your own hands. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, you're both dismissed for the day. Come back to school tomorrow to learn, not fight. Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, now go on. See you tomorrow."

Ellie and Peter couldn't leave the office fast enough. The moment they walked out of the office, the breaths they were holding came rushing out with loud sighs. The pair look at each other with surprised looks, and Ellie just starts laughing helplessly. Peter joins in soon after, the two holding each other up. Aunt May walks out of the office soon after, raising her eyebrow. "Did we miss the joke?" she asked. Peter looked back at her with a smile, while Ellie grinned at Tanner who soon moved out of the office as well to stand beside his sister. "I certainly don't see what's so funny about being called to the principal's office."

"Me neither," Tanner stares down at Ellie, who quickly quiets down.

Peter shrugs. "I didn't get in trouble."

"Off of a technicality, Peter!"

"Well, I'm sorry! I was just trying to help my friend!"

 _Friend?_ The word registers in her mind and a chord strikes through her. Tanner and Aunt May both have inquisitive looks on their faces. "Friend?" The question was simultaneous. Peter nods and looks back to Ellie with a wide smile. "Yeah, Ellie's my friend I just met today. We were both just trying to help Holly. Right, El?"

"Uh, uh...r-right!" Ellie's mood peaked up. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Parker." 

"I'd say the same thing, but you dragged my nephew here to the principal's office..." Ellie bows her head quickly, but is surprised when she hears a loud, fitful cackle from Peter's aunt. "I'm just messing with you, kiddo! I'm glad he was helping a friend out. Trust me, this is the last most offensive thing Peter's ever done at school."

"Aunt May," Peter tries to mutter to her.

"You know, one time in elementary school, Peter had to go to the bathroom really bad at recess so he went to the sandbox, pulled down his pants and-"

"Aunt May!" He quickly cut her off, sending Ellie a 'Sorry' look. The white haired girl just shook her head, covering the snicker that was threatening to erupt from her mouth. Tanner, however, let his laugh loose with a mighty roar. Aunt May looked from her nephew to the Duncans back and forth and stopped her gaze at Peter, pursing her lips. "What? It's a funny story!"

"Maybe to you, Aunt May."

"Hahahaha, alright Ellie," Tanner shaked his head and ruffles his little sister's ivory locks. "Time for us to book it. I've gotta head back to work - it's almost the end of my lunch break."

"Which means you're hungry?"

"No shit - I mean crap! Sorry, Mrs. Parker." Aunt May waves it off. "No worries, I've said worse. It was very nice to meet you, Tanner. You know, if you'd like, you and Ellie can come by for dinner anytime you're free!" 

Tanner smiled and wrapped an arm over his sister's shoulders. "We'll take you up on that soon! C'mon, Ellie, time to book it." The siblings turn around and start off down the hallway, but not before Ellie calls out to Peter over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Peter!"

"Yeah! See you!" Peter waves goodbye. He and Aunt May watch until the two are out of sight and around the corner. The older woman smiles down at her nephew. "Well, she seems nice!"

"Aunt May..."

"What? I'm not saying anything! Buuuut you two would be-"

"Aunt May!"

* * *

 

It took the Duncan siblings a while to navigate through the school until they got outside to the front gates. Ellie quickly jumped into into Duncan's car, avoiding eye contact with him. He calmly slides in and slams his door shut. The two sit in silence for a moment. He looks over at her, and she releases the breath that she was holding.

"I know that I could've risked exposing myself getting in between that fight, but I don't like it when people fight and you _know_ that! It wasn't my fault! I was protecting my friend Holly and then Peter tried to help and then we both got into trouble, but it all worked out in the end right? Right? At least I survived and actually liked school, right?!"

"That's not what I was going to say. But good on you for attempting to read your big bro's mind!"

"Then what were you going to say?!"

Tanner grins wide and big, licking his lips. "I like my steak medium well."

" _Tanner_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, it looks like the two are gonna be crushes! but wait until next chapter, when ellie meets a certain superhero ;D


	3. The Girl Meets The Spider

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ellie finally meets spider-man! and this chapter is way too long!

_The room around her was cold and damp, the floor pure hard concrete. It was dark. Too dark. She hated this room - this feeling of being trapped. She couldn't stand it any longer, she wanted to be free! She wanted out!_

_"Let me out!" she screeches into the air._

_Just as she says this, the room disappears and she is in what looks to be a study. The window is blown open, the curtains whipping harshly as the storm outside raged on. While it was dry and a fire kept her warm in this room, this felt like the one place she feared the most. "No..."_

_"Eileen, my sweet girl," the voice called out to her. It was grave, deep. Was it her father? ...No. It wasn't her father. It couldn't be. She recognized the voice all too well, and it was not her father. **Never** her father. It was someone she'd rather not remember. The space seemed to close in on her, she couldn't move. She tried with all of her might to move, but she couldn't. A hand reaches out and grabs the front of her shirt, pulling her closer to its shadowy form._

_Ellie tries to pull away, tears running down her wet face. "No! No, let me go! Let me go!"_

_"Eileen! Stop this at once!" The voice scolded her harshly, as if she was a child. "Go back this instant!"_

_"I don't want to! Stop it, stop it please! Let me go!"_

_"You will return! Do you hear me?"_

_"Please let me go!"_

_"YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE!"_

_"LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

_The black is replaced with red. The shadowy figure stops moving, and so does Ellie. They both look down to see her shaking hands have produces talons, piercing into the shadow's abdomen. Ellie sobs as she looks back up to see not a shadow, but a man - an aged face with pepper gray hair and large rimmed glasses. Ellie can't remember who he is, but feels a new set of tears roll down her face. "I-I..."_

_The man looks at her wide eyes in shock, gently patting her cheek. "E-Eileen... y-you..."_

_He falls over in front of her, a pool of blood surrounding his body. Ellie could only back away in horror, crying out as lightning roared behind her. "No, no no no! I didn't mean...I didn't want...Stop! Just stop!" The same nightmare, the same dream that plagued her darkest thoughts. A far off memory she'd rather forget, but couldn't._

_" **Remember, Eileen.** "_

_A new voice rang around her in this terrible dream. Colder, darker than the dead old man. She has never heard this voice before, and it terrifies her._

_" **Remember what you really are.** "_

_The darkness began to creep further around her, swallowing her whole. S_ _he screams. She screams over and over and over again._ _But Ellie can't stop as she floats into the cold abyss._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ellie's scream echoed throughout her bedroom walls, her panicked eyes whipping around her dark bedroom. She breathed heavily as a cold sweat cooled behind her back and the soft tapping of rain hit her window. She wasn't there anymore, at the dark study. She was in her bed, her hair kept in a messy ponytail behind her tousled all over her head. But she still couldn't get the nightmare out of her head.

"Ellie! Ellie, was is it?!" Tanner came charging into the room, his claws out and teeth barred. His eyes landed on his sister's tear streaked face and he loosened up, the black claws going back into his skin and his teeth returning to normal. A long sigh draws out from his mouth. "It was the dream again, wasn't it?"

She nods slowly, grabbing her comforter up and holding it to her clothed chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ellie shakes her head. "We talk about it all the time. I don't think doing it again is going to help."

Tanner moved closer until he was at the foot of her bed, planting a seat on the blanket. It was silent for a few moments until she got the courage to speak again. "But it was different tonight." Her brother raised an eyebrow and gestured her to continue. "I...I heard a voice."

"A voice?"

"Yeah. I never heard it before, at least from what I can remember."

"What did it sound like?"

She combed her hair down with her fingers. "Umm...I don't know? It was cold, harsh maybe. A woman, I think?" Tanner tenses up and averts his gaze. "Do you know-"

"You should probably get some sleep. I'll make some tea, should make sure it doesn't happen again." Tanner quickly stands up and leaves, not sparring Ellie any clue to what he knew.

Ellie frowned. She thought that she was used to this - Tanner keeping secrets from her about their past. All that she can remember her brother telling her was that they were running from a group of people, the same people who gave them their powers. Who want them back to do the same terrible things they did to them to others. That they had to avoid them at all cost. That's why they moved around so much and, while she hated it, she knew there was no getting around it even if she wanted to.

But New York is supposed to be their end. Where they can finally get some peace for a while. After all, who can find you in a city with 8 million people walking around?

Ellie had lost her memories of that time, and could only recall events from the past five years. Tanner says that it was probably for the best. That it was her mind's way of coping with the trauma. Could _that_ have been another secret of his? She could never ask.

Or at least, every time she tried to ask, Tanner would give her a look that told her not to press further. After all, he could remember all of those terrible memories. Not her.

She pushed her blanket off of her and jumped out of bed, barely making a sound. She crept out of her room and walked down the dark hallway until she got to the stairs, where she could see Tanner making her tea in the kitchen. He was crying, sniffling quietly while pouring the steaming liquid into her cup. She knelt down on the steps, watching him with a sad expression.

And _that_ was why she could never asked.

* * *

" _Ms. Duncan...Ms. Duncan? ..._ Ms. Duncan!"

Ellie shoots up from her desk, whipping her head around the room in confusion. The entire class erupted in laughter, and she remembered where she was. She was at school, in science lab, and apparently went to sleep during the lecture. Her mouth formed up a sheepish smile when Mrs. Warren gives her a pointed look. "You sleepin' in my class, Eileen?"

"N-No, ma'am!"

"Really? Well then, tell me the solution to this problem then: What is the likelihood that a woman with heterozygous sex linked alleles for hemophilia and a man with normal hemoglobin alleles will have a male child with hemophilia?"

Ellie's answer was instantaneous. "50% when using the Punnet square diagram, ma'am."

"And a female child?"

"Zero percent. It's less likely for someone with two X chromosomes to obtain the disease than someone with one X chromosome. Because the woman is heterozygous and the man is normal, one girl will at least be normal while the other will be a carrier. I mean, _if_ they have two boys and two girls anyway."

Mrs. Warren smirked while the teens in the class was in silence. "Alright, nice job. But don't take naps in my class anymore, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Ellie sat back down and let out the breath that she was holding in. A tap on her shoulder prompted her to look at Holly, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Dude!" The black haired girl hissed, adjusting her glasses further into her face. "How did you know that? We weren't learning about dihybrid punnett squares and crosses til' this semester!"

Ellie shrugged. "I learned back when I was-...um, when I was home schooled! Yeah, it was a big deal for me to know a lot of stuff when I was younger. Most of the lessons stuck."

"Your brother taught you?"

Ellie's smile faltered for a split moment, but it didn't appear that Holly noticed. "Yeah. It was my brother. He's smarter than he looks."

"Haha! Glad to see I'm not the only one who's pressured to know this crap."

Mrs. Warren claps her hands to get everyone's attention as the school bell rings for the end of the day. "Alright, alright! Hold up! Before you all run out of here, I have lab partner assignments for next week all ready. We'll switch things up each time a lab assignment is needed. Now, go on and enjoy your weekend!"

The two girls stuffed their books in their bags and quickly sped up to join the rest of the crowd to find their lab partners for next week. It took a moment but the two finally broke through to skim through the list. Holly's manicured finger scrolled down the paper. "Alright, let's see...you're paired up with Ned! That's cool, he's smart when he applies himself."

"I heard that!" Ned shouts from the back. Holly just chuckled and looked down further, only to gasp in horror. "You've got to be kidding me," She grumbled to herself. Holly then looked over to Ms. Warren. "Any chance we can get a reassignment?"

"It's only for a week, Ms. Lee."

Holly huffed and whipped out of the room, Ellie following after her in confusion. The halls were crowded, as usual at the end of the day. "What's wrong? Who'd she pick for you?"

"Flash Thompson! She pairs me up with _Flash Thompson_?! Ugh, this is the worst!"

"Is he that bad?"

Holly snorted, "Asking if Flash is bad is like asking if the sky is blue. Wait until you meet him and hear him speak. That'll show you."

And, almost on cue, a smirking Flash Thompson appears by the girls' sides. He's about three inches taller than them, wearing a white Polo shirt with gelled black hair on his head. He smelled slightly like peppermint, Ellie thought to herself. Something sweet and cooling; the complete opposite of how Flash really was.

"Hey, Holly," Flash grinned at Ellie's friend. "Looks like we're gonna be lab partners! Ain't that great?"

Holly rolls her eyes. "As great as the North Pole in winter, Flash."

"Uh huh, who's your new friend?"

The sigh Holly drew out was nothing short but tired and irritated. "Ellie! This is Eugene-"

"Ahem!"

"...Sorry, I mean 'Flash' Thompson. Flash, this is Ellie."

Ellie smiled and nodded toward Flash, who smirked at her with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Well, Ellie, you know if you're not too busy this weekend I could always take you out to the movies-"

"Oh my god, Flash!" Holly shouted. " _Seriously_?!"

"What?"

Holly scoffed. "Don't 'what' me, Prep Boy! You're dating Liz! You can't just-" But she was cut off by Flash's big laughter. "Oh, me and Liz? Yeeeeeah, we ended that a couple of days ago. You know, same old same old. She'll be back though. Everyone always comes back to the Flash."

"Sure, sure. Like moths to the flame that eventually kills them!"

Flash rolled his eyes, ignoring Holly now and giving Ellie a wide, shit-eating grin. "So, Ellie Belly? What do you say?"

"Call her that again, and I'll knock your tooth in."

"I'd sue."

"I'll take those risks."

Ellie giggled, shaking her head. "Maybe not this weekend, Flash. But it was nice to meet you!"

"Likewise, m'lady," Flash winked, earning a flustered look from Ellie and a red eyed Holly giving him a death glare. He retreats over to his locker as the two girls walk away, but not before calling out, "Wait? Does that mean next weekend?"

"Maybe so!"

When they turned the corner, Holly instantly grabbed Ellie by the ear. "Ow, ow, ow, ow! Hey!"

"Why on earth would you give Flash Thompson the idea that you'd go on a date with him?!"

"Ow-Icouldn'tsayno-ouch! Idon'tlikebeingmeanandsayingno-OW!"

"I could've said no, jeez louise!"

"My ear-ouch-MY EAR!"

Holly lets go, and Ellie's hand comes up to cradled her light burning ear. The white haired girl sent a glare her friend's way, who put her hands up in defense. "Sorry, sorry! I was just trying to bring you to your senses?"

"Flash Thompson is that bad?"

"The worst! He literally buys people's approval - his parents donate big bucks to the school every year. So in short, he expects everyone to say yes and anyone who says no is...well, not on his good list."

The two stop at their lockers, where Peter and Ned hear the last bits of their conversation. "Ugh, Flash Thompson?" Ned's mouth turned upward. "Yeah, he's bad."

"Wow," Ellie pouted. "He didn't seem bad."

"That's because you're too nice," Holly sighed. "And oblivious."

"Am not!"

"Are too! Who says 'Maybe' to a date request from Flash?!"

Peter, who was currently drinking from a bottle of water, practically choked on the clear liquid. "WH-WHAT? You want to go on a date with Flash?!"

"No! Of course not," Ellie argued. "I didn't even say yes!"

Holly snorted, "You didn't say no, either."

"It was the heat of the moment! I panicked! Doesn't mean I actually want to go!"

"Uh huh! Suuuure."

Ellie groaned, leaning against her locker. "It's only been a week and I'm already messing up, huh?" Peter gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't think you're messing up. You couldn't have known."

"I gave her subtle hints!" Holly gaped. "How could she not have seen them?"

"You sure? Are you really sure?"

"...Fair enough. But just watch for my cues next time, okay?"

Ellie frowned. "All you did was frown at him though."

"Frowning is the cue!" Holly asserted.

"But you frown at anybody."

"Damn! You're right. Uh...waving arms?" Holly does the motion, wiggling her arms up and down.

"That definitely won't make you look crazy," Ned said sarcastically. The girl adjusted the glasses on her face and glared at the bigger guy of the group, who only snorted. Holly then hummed, a small smile forming on her face.

"Okay! Just remember, from now on, if you need any help from the side lines to look to me! Or Pete, or even Ned. He has good days."

"Just so I can know whether or not someone is bad to get involved with?"

"Exactamundo!" Holly supportively grinned at Ellie. "You're stuck with us, Duncan. Don't go running off to the dark side."

"And we're the light side?" Peter raised a brow, folding his arms. "What if I wanted to be Darth Vader?"

"And what if I wanted to be Emperor Palpatine?" Ned quipped.

"Does that mean I'm Luke Skywalker?" Holly pondered.

Ellie blinks at all three of them. "...What are you guys talking about?"

Holly, Peter, and Ned turned wide eyed expressions at a confused Ellie. "YOU'VE NEVER SEEN STAR WARS?!" They all shouted.

Needless to say, a movie marathon was planned Saturday for the foursome to watch all things Star Wars at Holly's house. She had no idea what exactly it was, but she was happy to spend time with her newly acquired friends.

* * *

Banks are a problem. _Especially_ when they're ATMs are "out of service". The ATM is supposed to be an endless supply of money, right? At least that's what Ellie assumed.

But no, it just had to be out of service.

So, here she was, waiting in a terribly long line to get Tanner's money out of the bank. He was working a late shift at the cafe he was working at, in order to get some extra money in their pockets. Rent was due that day, so he sent her ahead with his account information to get the money out for the landlord. Which would've been simple, if not for the guy up front who just had to flirt with one of the bank tellers.

"You know, your eyes are really glowing," he smirked slyly. "You wearing any makeup? Eyeshadow maybe?"

"Oh! Um, no I'm not," the bank teller blushes.

"Ah, so your beauty is natural."

"Are you for real?" One of the people scoffed. "Would you get your money out, creep! We've been in line for ten minutes!"

"Yeah, man! I got shit to do!"

Ellie sighed, reaching into her pocket and checking out the messages on her phone. She sees a new group chat message and clicks on, beginning to giggle at the exchange between Holly and Ned. Ned is supposed to be on snack duty for the Saturday marathon, while Holly is supplying the home theatre. Peter is supposed to bring the popcorn, and Ellie brings the drinks.

Holly and Ned, however, are arguing about which Star Wars movie is the best. Either _The Return of the Jedi_ or _The Empire Strikes Back_. They were waiting for Peter's vote to break the tie (since Ellie's never seen it before), but he didn't respond since two hours ago. Maybe he was busy or something, Ellie thought to herself.

A slam of the front door, however, broke her out of her text messages.

" _Everyone, on the ground now_!"

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me._

The sound of a shotgun pierced the air and the next thing Ellie knew, one of the security guards was down. And then another. And then one more. Cries rang out from the people in line and in the small offices of the bankers, and everyone quickly jumped and knelt to the ground. Well, almost everyone.

"You deaf, little girl?" One of the gun men called out to her. A gun soon after was pointed in her direction. "Get down!" Another from the group took a large lock and slammed it into the door, sealing it off for escape.

"Pl-Please, miss!" One of the bank tellers shouted through the glass. "Just get down! The police will be here soon!"

Ellie narrowed her eyes at the group, but slowly knelt down to the ground. The leader, she suspected, didn't stop advancing on her though. He was in front of her now, the two of them glaring at each other. "Stop looking at me like that," he growled. "Don't you got any manners, kid?"

He placed his gun to his side and knocked her down, the group watching her fall down with a rumble of laughter. "That'll teach ya, little brat!" The leader cackled. Ellie was starting to get pissed and, impulsively, knocked her leg into his. He fell to the ground, and just as she was almost upon him, a shot rang out just above her. "Don't even think about it," One of the robbers mused. "Unless you want your head blown off."

"Looks like someone here is trying to be a hero!" The leader pushed her off of him, grabbing his handgun out of his holster and holding it to the side of her head. "I'm sure you know what happens to unequiped heroes in stories, right?"

"No, please!" A woman cried out.

A man shouted along with her. "Come on! She's just a kid!"

"And the Pope is just an old man!" The main robber laughed. "You think I give a shit? This little bitch tried me, and now she pays the price." The gun cocks. "Any last words, hero?"

 _Damn, damn damn damn!_ She was out of options. If she reveals her powers here, everyone will know. Tanner will get mad, and they'll have to move again. But she doesn't want to leave! But she can't just stand by and watch people get hurt! She was stuck in two places, two ways of life. "I-I..."

"Come on, speak!" He grabs her up by the shirt and seethes. "You was eyeballin' me just a second ago! Where's that look, huh?! Where is it!"

"For god sakes, please!"

"Leave her alone!"

He points his gun at the kneeling crowd. "Y'all want a turn?! No? Then shut the fuck-"

A sound that sounded like glass breaking resounded through the room. Wait, it was glass breaking! Ellie could see shards scatter to the ground, and the man who was grabbing her from before was kicked down to the ground by...a guy wearing some weird costume. He flipped into the air, landing back on top of the leader, who cried out and was knocked out cold by a swift kick to the chin. A line white shot from his wrists as he restrained the unconscious man for later. "Woo! Perfect landing, if I do say so myself."

"Shit! He's here!" One of the robbers screamed.

"Already? What, he can fly now too or somethin'?!"

The unknown party crasher stands in front of Ellie, shielding her from the robbers. "Nope! I was just in the neighborhood! And you guys definitely don't look like you want to open a bank account here."

The outfit, the webs that shot out from his wrists, the way he landed into the room like it was nothing. _Right. He's..._ "Spider-Man."

"Yep! That's my name! Don't wear it out, or do! Sounds cute coming from-" The red and blue clothed figure turned her way, and she saw the makeshift mechanic eyes widen at her. "You...what are _you_ doing here?!"

"Huh?" Ellie blinks at him.

"Do just stand there! _Get 'im_!"

She hears the guns cock once again. They shoot, but Spider-Man is quicker. He quickly grabs Ellie by the shoulders and jumps behind a wooden desk, covering her from the opening fire. Looking down on her, she can see a faint smile from the red fabric of his mask. "Stay here! I got this!"

"But wait!"

He was already flipping up and over the desk when she called out to him when the gunfire stopped. Ellie could hear grunts and shouts from the fighting, wondering how many there were. She peeps her head over the counter and counts as Spider-Man fights. One...two...five... Five gunmen?! He couldn't handle all of those alone!

But before she could act, another gunmen came to the desk she was hiding in. Quickly ducking down before he saw her, she could hear him fiddling with his shotgun and trying to put in more bullets. _Not on my watch_ , she thought determined. Her hair whipped behind her as she silently stood up, not trying to give away her position.

His back from her, Ellie quickly grabbed the chair from the desk to her and swiftly knocked it over the gunman's head. The sound the chair makes hitting him makes her flinch. But, he falls to the ground unconscious. "Sorry, not sorry," she says under her breath throwing the last remains of the broken wood away from her. She hears a cock of a gun with her sensitive ears, and turns around. Another gunman is before her, eyes burning wide in anger.

"Come here!" He shouts, grabbing her by the back of her head. She lets out a pained cry, but quickly recovers. Was that spider guy looking? No, he was fighting the last pair of thieves. _Good_ , she thinks to herself.

The man holding a gun to her head screams out loud, letting her go to look down at his feet. His shoes were...pierced open? He looks at the smirking girl in front of him, whose shoes are shredded to reveal large, black claws. "Wh-What the fuck?!"

"Lights out!"

Ellie sends a fist straight into the man's nose, throwing him off balance to the ground. She grabs his discarded gun, unloading the gun with ease. She throws it away from her with a look of disgust, shaking her head. "Don't these yahoos ever learn?"

"Nice job!"

Ellie can feel the panic creeping up on her. ' _Oh, god! He saw didn't he?_ ' Slowly turning around, the Spider-Man was indeed looking at her. But he seemed too preoccupied at looking at her handiwork, while she his. The robbers that he fought and disarmed were currently hanging from the ceiling in a coat of 'spider' webbing, calling out for help. "That was so cool! The way you just... _BLAM_! Right into that guy's head! And-and, I didn't see it all, but _man oh man_! You punched that other guy so cold! And then you disarmed his gun?! His freakin' gun?! You are just...you are so badass!"

He couldn't see it because of her dark brown skin, but Ellie was sure that her cheeks were heating up furiously. "I-I...thank you. I mean, I was just helping you out."

"No way! You can handle your own, don't think you needed me!" Spider-Man laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "You're incredible."

"How many times are you going to keep saying that?"

"Until you believe it!"

Before she could reply or argue, the sound of police sirens drew nearer. Spider-Man cursed under his breath. "Shit! Ha, well, looks like I've got to run! It was nice to meet you, Miss..?"

"Oh! Um, Eileen. But please, call me Ellie."

"I like Eileen though! It's pretty, like you."

Again, her entire face flushes. Her own hand cradles her burning face. "Um, um-"

"See ya later, beautiful!"

And, just as quick as he came, Spider-Man was spurting webbing out of his wrists to swing out from where he entered. Ellie gasped, shaking herself out of her stupor. "W-Wait" She cried out, running towards the bank's entrance. The lock was still there, but tugging at it was child's play. As it broke off, she dropped it on the ground. Hopefully the bystanders assumed she picked it instead of tore it off. Ellie ran outside of the bank, where the flashing lights of police cars littered her vision. She could hear someone shouting at her, but she was all too focus on catching one last glimpse of her newfound interest. And, sure enough, there he was. Swinging away to help others in this big city.

A grin began to surface on her face. And a wicked idea began to form in her head.

* * *

Tanner paced back and forth in the small living room of his and Ellie's apartment, worry etched all over his face. The sun had set and it was night out, as evident in the crescent moon hanging above the bustling city. A sound of a key turning in the door caught this ears, and he instantly went barreling towards it

Unlocking it before the other person could, he flew it open to reveal his little sister who was holding...fabric? Loads and loads of...fabric. "What the...you know what? I don't even want to know. Where have you been?"

"Um, I was out?"

The way she said it so matter-of-fact only pissed him off even more. Pushing past him to run to the stairs was just another tick. "Ellie, hold up! I saw the news! I know about what happened at the bank!"

Ellie sighed and paused mid-step, turning back to look at him through the wooden bars of the stair ledge. "You did?"

"Yes. Were you there?"

"Yeeeeees?"

"You okay?"

"Of course! Didn't even get shot at...I think?"

Tanner folded his arms. "Did you do something?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Answer me, Ellie!"

"What? You're asking me if I defended myself against armed robbers and, not only used my powers, but did it in front of someone else with powers which would have exposed me and probably gave away my manufactured mutant status but I got away with it? Oh noooo, why would I ever? I just cowered away, like a _normal_ person would do!"

Tanner stared hard at her, before gritting out, "You did, didn't you?"

"What was I supposed to do?! Let them rob a bank?!"

"Yes! That was exactly what you should have done! That...arachnid guy has the common sense to hide his identity! Jesus fucking Christ, Ellie, we've been over this, you can't-!"

Ellie quickly cut him off with a snap. "Oh yes! I know perfectly well what we've been over and what we can and can't do! Or, better yet, what _I_ can't do! Don't use your powers, Ellie! Be normal, Ellie! Let's forget about the past and move forward, Ellie!"

"Don't mock me!"

Ellie does the opposite. "Don't mock me! Ugh! You're so annoying!"

"I'm annoying?! Oh sure, I'm the annoying one out of the both of us! At least I'm not the one acting like a little brat who _thinks_ she knows everything!"

Ellie gasps, but then glares. "No, I _don't_ know everything. You're making sure of that, aren't you?"

Tanner's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

She scoffed before stomping up the stairs. "H-Hey! Eileen Michelle Duncan, you get back down here right now!" He hears her door slam upstairs. "Fine! You wanna be that way? Then no Star Wars marathon, or whatever the hell that is you told me about, until we have a mature discussion about this!" Silence. "I'm...I'm sorry." Tanner sighs and walks over to their couch, slumping down in it. "God. I really am bad at this."

Eileen slumps against her bedroom door, the fabrics that she brought home tight to her chest. It was a low blow, her saying that to him. But she felt right. She could apologize later, though. Looking down at the things in her arms, she moved over to her desk and dropped them all down. Opening her drawer, she pulled out her needle and thread.

Now it was time to go to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys will finally see the birth of a bird, but watch as she completely forgets to think of a hero name for herself


	4. The Bird is Born

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo, easter weekend had me beat! sorry y'all, but here's a new chapter back on for tuesday updates! ellie goes to a star wars marathon and gets closer with her friends, while afterwards testing out her new costume! will she make it as a new vigilante? find out!

The morning was better for Ellie than the other day. There was no nightmares, no fear, the sun poured in splashing warmth upon her face. That so happened to be dry with drool running down the side of her mouth.

"Eeeeeew!" She cried out, quickly wiping away at the fluid. "Gross!"

After a minute or so of furious wiping, she stared down at her work desk and at her finished project. The costume was an Ellie original (as she liked to call it): A one-piece suit that was full of different patches of fabric colored with different shades of yellow and white, a half mask that was black and meant to cover the top of her face. Turning it over, the slits on the back of the costume made perfect room for when she would fly across the city. Now, all she had to do was decide if she needed any other assortments to match the ensemble. Ellie held the outfit to her chest, giggling happily.

"It's perfect!"

A string of knocks sounded on her door, making her squeak quite loudly. "Ellie? You okay? Did you just squeak?" Her brother's voice questioned through the door.

"N-No! _You_ squeaked!"

"...What?"

"Uh! I mean...nothing! Just gimme a minute! I'm...indecent!"

"What are you talking-" The doorknob rattles. "Ellie, open the door right now!"

She rushes up from her seat and grabs her costume, bouncing from each side of the room to figure out where to hide it. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" She hisses. Spotting a pile of clothes, she practically flew across the room to stuff it underneath. After making sure that it was hidden nice and tight, she ran to her door and unlocked it, opening it for a narrow eyed Tanner to come inside. "Come in, come in!" Ellie beckoned, waving her hand around the room. "What's up, big bro?"

"Well, I-" Tanner looked her up an down, seeing her disheveled look. "...I came up here to talk to you. And grab the clothes up for laundry day." He moved passed her and grabs up the pile of clothes. In an instant, his little sister rushes over and grabs the clothes from him.

"NO!"

She snatches the dirty clothes out of his arms, stepping back while Tanner looks shocked. "Ellie, what in the-"

"Don't touch these! M-My underwear is in here!"

"So? I've washed them before-"

"BUT I'm washing my own stuff today! You know, every teenager needs to wash their own clothes!" Ellie swiftly took the pile of clothes from her brother's arms into hers, stuffing the costume in out of sight. "I'll do it first thing when I get back from the marathon! Okay?"

"Yeah, about that-"

"Oh, right. I can't go, right?" Ellie huffed, slamming down on her bed. Tanner folded his arms. "Not until we have a talk, no."

"Fine! Let's talk! I'm sorry for calling you annoying, and you're sorry for being the responsible older brother that I love all the time and dislike sometimes! Great talk, buddy. See ya later!" Ellie starts skipping for the door, but is stopped by Tanner grabbing the back of her shirt.

"That's not how these work."

"They could."

"Look, I know that it can be...frustrating, me keeping things from you. But I just need you to understand that I make sure you do these things to protect you. You're...you're all I have, kiddo."

Ellie shifts uncomfortably on her feet, sighing deeply. "I...I know. But-!"

"No buts. It's the way things got to be."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Like you always say."

"Ellie-"

A ring from Ellie's phone saves her from another possible verbal altercation with her brother. She quickly jumps over her mattress and grabs the device from her desk, pressing the touch screen and placing it to her ear. "Yo," Ellie answers.

"Hey, Ellie Belly!"

Ellie laughs, realizing that Holly was trying to sound like Flash. "Oh god, please don't call me that."

"What? Eugene can call you that but I, your soon-to-be BFF can't call you that?"

"Who says you'll be my best friend forever?"

"The stars say so! And astrology never lies. You and me were destined by fate to be friends."

"Yeah yeah, sure, Ms. Fate. You downstairs?"

"Sure am! Waiting for your sorry butt to get down here! I've got the guys in here with me, and they are just dying to get this marathon started!" Almost on cue, Ellie hears Ned and Peter giving out noises of pain in the background. "Need. Star Wars! The wait...is killing me!" Peter cries out. "Goodbye, cruel world!" Ned quipped in.

"Alright, alright!" Ellie cackled. "I'm on my way, you dorks. Just lemme take a quick shower."

"Hurry up! I don't need them dying in my mom's car!" They cry out in pain again, making Ellie roll her eyes. She presses the End Call button, and sifts through her dresser to find clean clothes for the day. Tanner sighs, shaking his head. "You're just gonna go before we finish this?"

"Yup!"

"And I'm assuming that when you get back home, it's going to be late?"

"No, no! I'm sure Star Wars isn't that long! It's only one film, right?"

Tanner blinks, and just begins to laugh. "Oh, oh! Oh, you are in for it, kid. C-Call me when you get home!" He holds his stomach as he walks out, his laugh echoing through the halls. Ellie stares at his retreating form in confusion, lifting her hands up in the air.

"What? What is so funny?! _Tanner_!"

* * *

Ellie was beyond surprised when she pulled up into Holly's house - or, as she had it in her mind, her mansion. The house was enormous, a yellow brick 'palace' with a security gate, security guards and almost everything that screamed 'The Lees are rich as hell'. Now all it was missing was a large fountain.

"No fucking way," Ellie breathed, looking around the courtyard. "This is...amazing!"

"Yeah, not really. But I guess I'm not surprised. Ned had the same reaction when he came here first. I'm also pretty sure...Peter fainted?"

"I did not!"

"He totally did," Ned nodded in agreement. "Right there where you're standing. It was pretty funny." Peter gaped at him, making Ellie burst out in laughter. "I did not! Ellie, don't believe them!"

"I-I believe you, Peter!" She tries to say in between her laughs. "I-I do!"

"She doesn't," Holly and Ned responded at the same time. Ellie wipes the tears from her eyes and Peter just huffed, waving his arms up in defeat. "Okay, I may have passed out for a second. Just one! Now can we just go in?" Holly and Ned went on ahead, Peter and Ellie walking side by side. With a mischievous grin, Ellie leans over and whispers, "I didn't know you were a fainter, Parker."

Ellie swore his ears went scarlet red in embarrassment. "Well I'm not all the time!" He whispered back.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, this one time me and Tanner was at the amusement park and we got on this super high ride. He passed out like...about 10 times? 12, at least."

"Seriously? What ride was it?"

"Hmm...I think the Valravn at Cedar Point?"

Peter sucked air in through his teeth and chuckled. "Say no more. I understand - last time me and Aunt May went to Luna Park and got on the Thunderbolt, I puked all over the place!" The duo laugh together to a point where Ellie snorts. She shoots a hand to her mouth and nose while Peter stares at her. Then, he gets a grin on his face that matched Ellie's earlier. "You snort when you laugh?"

"No! ...Sometimes? Don't tell Holly!"

"Sure, sure. I won't tell her." Ellie breathes out a sigh of relief, at least until Peter begins to jog ahead. "Hooooolly!" He calls out, looking back to grin at Ellie. She squeals out, running after him as he sprints through the door. "Peter Parker, I swear to god!" She chased Peter up until they finally caught up to Ned and Holly, who was opening the door to her family's home theater. Seeing them both run up oddly, they raise their brows. "What are you two doing?" Holly asked.

"Looks like you both ran a marathon," Ned snickers.

Peter and Ellie look at each other - one staring in amusement, the other with a smirk but narrowed eyes. They both look back at Ned and Holly and shake their heads. "We're good," they both say at the same time.

"Whaaaatever! Anyways, Ellie, welcome to my folks' home theatre!" Holly pushes open the doors and leads the others in. Ellie becomes enamored with the sight, she never really thought it was possible to have a whole theater in one house. There was about 5 rows of seats, the first row ascending up to the final row where Holly and Ned plant down. Ellie sits down next to Peter, placing her bag down and pulling out the drinks. Each of them had a 20 oz. of Coca Cola or Lemonade, drinking away instantly. Peter started to pass around the bag of popcorn, the teens reaching in and grabbing handfuls to munch on.

However, Ellie noticed he had about 3 different bags. "What's with all the popcorn?"

"We needed enough for all of the movies!" Peter smiled.

"...Wait wait wait, there's more than one movie?!"

Holly sighs and shakes her head. "Oh, my dear Eileen. Much to learn, you have." Catching Ellie's perplexed look, Holly giggles. "You'll realize when we get to the Empire Strikes Back."

Hours went by, and the group were fully engrossed with the second film of the first Star Wars trilogy. They were at the part where Han and Leia kiss, to which Holly throws popcorn at the screen. "Boooooo! Bring back Luke!" She shouted as the film couple made out. Ned leaned over toward Peter and Ellie. "She hates Han and Leia being together, and the fact that George Lucas made Luke and Leia twins."

Ellie blinked. "But I thought she liked Star Wars?"

"She does!" Peter grinned. "Just not the romance part, it would appear."

Ellie could hear Holly blow out a raspberry with her tongue. "You two shush! Anakin and Padme are the It couple of Star Wars, everyone knows that!"

"Until he force choked her," Peter pointed out.

"Fine! Rey and Finn will be the new It couple then!"

"We don't even know if they'll get together!"

Ned, in the midst of this argument about romance, was scrolling through his news feed on Instagram with his phone. A video caught his eye and he scrolled back up, eyes widening at the contents. "Yo, guys! Check it out! Someone got a video of when Spider-Man was fighting at that bank!"

Holly leaned over his shoulder, her hair getting into Ned's face. "Really? Lemme see!"

"Pfft, puh! Your hair!"

"I know, pretty long right? I should probably cut it soon."

Ellie scooted over and leaned her head near Peter's shoulder, trying to get a good look at the video. Peter looked down, his eyes catching the roots of her hair. He didn't see any brown roots, did she just get it done? Or was he right to assume that her hair was naturally that color? A gasp from the three caught his attention, and he turned his gaze to the video. He saw himself in the Spider-Man costume fighting the burglars off, but he could also see Ellie in the shot, knocking a chair over one of the robbers. The video stops and begins to repeat. "Ellie...is that you?!" Ned whispered over to her.

"Y-Yeah," Ellie laughed nervously. "I guess it was?"

"Holy shit, you were there?!" Holly exclaimed. "No friggin way! An eyewitness to the scene of the crime? And you saw Spider-Man?! Oh my god, Ellie! You have to tell us everything!" She reaches for the remote and pauses the movie. Ned sighs, placing the popcorn bucket on the ground. "Here we go..."

Peter looks over in interest as well, watching Ellie twiddle with her fingers. "I-I mean, I didn't meet meet him, you know? We just talked for like a split second, after he kicked all of those guys butts."

"Well, how did he look?" Holly mused "Never seen him up close. How tall was he? "

"Well, I don't know exactly measurements, Hol. He was taller than me though."

The questions continued, rapid fire style. "Was he pretty strong? How big were his biceps? Did he sound like a grown man or a teenager? OH MY GOD, did he ask you for your NUMBER?!"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I don't know how strong he is, but he kicked about five guys' asses in two minutes flat. His biceps were...umm, fit? He sounds like our age aaaaaaand no! He did not ask me for his number!"

"Aww," Holly snapped her fingers. "Damn!"

"...But he did say that I was beautiful? Ad he liked my name?"

Holly gasps (a little too dramatically) and pulls out a small memo book from her pocket, clicking a pen that she had in the arm of her seat to start writing. "Great, great! This is fantastic news! I've already got the school headline: _Spider-Man Calls Midtown High Student Beautiful! Will He Asks Her Out?_ "

"Jesus, Hol." Ned shakes his head. "You guys really have no kind of headlines at the _Letter_ , do you?"

Ellie's confused look turned to Peter. " _The Letter_?"

Peter explained, "It's the high school's newspaper. Holly wants to go into journalism, so she started it up herself freshman year. It's actually pretty good."

"Yeah," Ned snorts. "If anyone actually read it!" The memo book went flying into his black hair instantly, accompanied with Holly shoving him on his side. "Ow, ow! I'm a tender man, Hols!"

"Tender, my ass!"

Peter laughs, and then asks, "You think he's cool, Ellie? Spider-Man, I mean."

The white haired girl leans back and tries to play her interest for the webslinger off, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean...he's cool. Like, you know, there's a guy who can literally call lightning out from the sky so...I've seen better."

"Well, sure! He can't do that. But he's got webs that shoot out of his wrists!"

"Webs ain't lightning, Parker."

Peter crosses his arms. He didn't think it would necessarily bother him that Ellie didn't think that he...well, that Spider-Man, was cool. But most other people thought he was cool. "At least webs actually land on people," he grumbles. Holly and Ned snickered. "If you haven't noticed," Holly smiled. "Those two are big Spider-Man fans. Ned follows a couple of fan pages and everything."

Ned nodded. "I like staying informed."

"And Peter here is probably his #1 fan!"

He quickly interjected, "I just take some photos of his sometimes, is all."

Ellie smiled, folding his arms. "Interesting. You guys like him all that much?"

"Who doesn't?" Ned says. "The guy's a superhero! A New York native, too! I've even predicted that, sooner or later, the Avengers are gonna beg to get this guy on their team! I mean, you have to have someone from New York on a superhero term!"

"Isn't Captain America a New Yorker?" Ellie raised a brow.

"Fine! Someone from Queens, you know we hold it down!"

Ellie giggled, while Holly rolled her eyes. "See what I mean? Anyways, we should get back to the marathon if we don't want to be stuck here all night!"

* * *

The marathon lasted for about 7 hours, and by the time they were getting out of Holly's house the sun was on the horizon. It would've been a sleepover if they had proceeded to watch the prequels, but Ned and Peter were very adamant on not watching Episodes I, II, or III. "Everyone hates the prequels!" Ned sighed. "It's just a well known fact!"

"The prequels gave us Jar-Jar Binks, you take that back!"

"That is exactly one of the reasons why the prequels are hated."

Peter shook his head while Ellie giggled, watching Holly stomp over to her car. "One day, I'll tie you up and force you to watch the prequels, Leeds! Mark my words!"

"I'm not into bondage, soooo no thanks!" Ned winked at Peter and Ellie before heading over to Holly's car. They both walked a bit sluggish, trying to figure out the words to say to one another. Ellie simply hummed. "And then there was two."

"Isn't it always?"

Ellie tucked some hair behind her ear. "True, very true. But I can't say I don't like it. You know, having friends."

He looked over at her, catching her smile falter ever so slightly. "You don't have a lot of friends?"

"Nah. Me and my brother, we...we moved around a bunch. Never really had the opportunity to make friends. His job, you know? But this is supposed to be our last stop. I mean, I hope it's our last stop. I really like it here! The school, Holly, Ned." Ellie looks over at Peter, her smile coming back. "And you too, Peter."

Peter felt his cheeks slowly burning, and he turned away rubbing the back of his neck. "O-Oh! Yeah, that's...that's cool! I don't want you to leave either! So, let's hope this is your last stop."

She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "Ah, me too! This was fun! We should do it again sometime."

Peter smiled, his brown eyes staring back into her hazel. "Yeah, we should."

"You know, maybe just us-"

A car horn broke them out of their daze. "C'mon, you two! We don't have all day!" Holly shouted from the driver's side. "Ned's mom will flip if he misses curfew!" Peter and Ellie both shook their heads, heading towards the car with small smiles. Ellie got into the passenger side, leaning back as Peter closed the door for her. A vibration hits her hip and she pulls her phone out. It was a text from Peter.

' _continued, to be?_ '

She grinned, shaking her head. But she couldn't help but type back, ' _to be continued, dork!_ '

* * *

After Holly dropped her off at her apartment complex, Ellie managed to sneak up to the wide roof of the building to try out her idea. It was a long shot, and probably would result in her being grounded . But, she figured that if she could conceal herself just enough, maybe she could get away with it. Clapping her hands together, she threw her bag off of her shoulder and pulled out the outfit she made.

"Okay...time to suit up!"

Getting into the costume was easy enough. She could complain about how much the wool itched around her arms, and that the eye slits in her mask were a tad bit too small. But a simple rip in both holes should do the trick. Ripping them proved to make them too big, however. "Shit!" She cursed. "Ah, oh well. At least they still can't see my face, I guess. Better than nothing."

Now, all she needed to do is see if she made the holes long and wide enough for when she spread her wings. Taking a deep breath, Ellie closes her eyes and begins to feel her bones shift. The feeling wasn't painful - more so uncomfortable - but damn, did she not enjoy it. Grunting softly, the bones finally began to spurt through the slits and began to quickly grow white feathers over the forelimbs of her wings. When they finally finished, Ellie couldn't help but bring them down to run her hands over the soft feathers.

"So beautiful, ooooh! I missed you guys so much!" Ellie grinned, expanding them to full length. They were 15 feet long, spread out to shadow the setting sun behind her. Taking a few steps back on the rocky surface of the roof, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, El. You got this." The affirmation to herself was sound, and she ran. Ran until she got to the end of the roof.

Leaping off of the building, Ellie screamed out in excitement as she fell. Her wings caught the wind that she was flying towards, allowing her to swoop up before she hit the ground and twirl up into the air, catching bystanders' attention.

"What the hell was that?!"

"My god, was that Spider-Man?"

"Nah, nah! He red and blue! That thing's all gold and white! Jesus, does it have wings?!"

Ellie merely chuckled at the bewildered comments, flapping her wings and finally picking up speed through the wind. Closing her eyes, she just enjoyed the moment. She hadn't flown around in so long, ever since Tanner told her to keep her abilities concealed. Maybe it was the bird in her; she was just tired of being closed up. Nothing wrong with being free for a little bit, right?

A scream from far off hits her ears and she turns her direction to where it came from. So much for freedom, she thought bitterly. Her eyes glowed in a yellowish hue, activating her tunnel vision. She could see a woman being harassed by...three men? Oh, that wasn't going to fly. "Time to introduce myself," Ellie smirked, flapping faster as she neared her destination. She could hear the panic in the woman's voice now.

"Stay away!" The woman held up a can of mace at her assailants. "Don't come any closer!"

"Aw, c'mon!" The head guy chuckled darkly. "All we wanna do is talk with ya! Ain't that right, boys?" The other two nodded, grinning wide in malice. The woman closed her eyes, her fingers on the spray trigger but shaking in place.

"How about you leave her alone, dickheads?!" Ellie called out. They turned around confused, but it soon turned to shock and fear when Ellie's talon feet kicked into the dirty group, sending them all spiraling to the ground. And her, as well.

"Oh, no no no no!" She shouted. her feet landing roughly on the ground and making her roll into the wall ahead of her. Groaning in pain, she sits up and checks on her wings. "Thank goodness," She sighed. "They're fine. You guys are fine."

" _Hey_!"

Ellie looks up and sees a metal pipe coming straight for her head. Her hand catches it, and she looks back to the would-be criminal with a amused look. "Aw, you got me a present? How nice!"

Her wrist quickly knocked into his, making the pipe drop from his hands. She was certain she heard a crack. Not that it mattered. Her hands found the pipe and knocked it over his head, rendering him unconscious. The other two finally got a good look at her - a masked figure with wings that were unbelievably large, and screamed while running out of the alley.

"Hell yeah! You better run, assholes!" Ellie shouted at their backs. "Don't ever let me catch you in this town again! Or...else!"

Next thing she knew, the woman she saved pulled her into a hug. Ellie sputtered in shock, dropping the pipe to the ground. "U-Um...hi there?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much, I thought they were...that they were..." She begun to cry into Ellie's shoulder, sniffling sobs onto the vigilante. Ellie relaxed, wrapping her arms around the woman and hugging her back. "Well, whatever they were going to do, they didn't. And they won't ever again! I can promise you that, now that I'm around."

The woman pulled back away from Ellie, wiping her eyes. "Are...are you Spider-Man's sidekick or something?"

"Haha! Of course I'm-" Ellie stopped, realizing what the lady asked. " _What_?! Sidekick?! Hell no! I'm nobody's sidekick!"

"Then...who are you?"

"I'm-"

The winged girl stops herself. _Oh, right. I can't say my real name. Shoot! What other name can I say?!_

Ellie ponders on it for a moment, before snapping her fingers. "White Eagle! That's it!"

"Huh? White what?"

"Eagle. White Eagle! And I'm here to help! So, uh...tell your friends and family that they're in good hands! Oh, and make sure you call the police on that sleeping creep over there!" She gives the woman an awkward wave and lifts off in a large gust of wind, twirling into the skies once more. Wobbling a little in the air, Ellie just couldn't help but screech out in happiness. "My first rescue! Oh my god, I've never felt so alive!" She screams, doing a loop as she laughs in triumph.

She was a hero! Her, a goddamn hero! Little Ellie Duncan was a hero! Or should she say, White Eagle was an hero. And man, did it feel great.

She even forgot for a moment about Tanner finding out about it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooh, the birth of white eagle! find out if she can get away with her dual life next chapter! she and spider-man won't be meeting then, but they will soon~
> 
> oh! and if you want to be up to date with updates or just would like to see random posts and how i picture the characters to look, head on down to thedoeduchess.tumblr.com!


	5. The Boy Sees The Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the long wait! but, after a month hiatus, here's a new chapter! finally get to see some things from peter's p.o.v. for a bit~
> 
> also i hope it's not too short? 'cause the next one may be longer ^^

Peter Parker was not a morning person. What teenager who was juggling a normal school life and a superhero alter-ego ended up a morning person? And yet, here he was - awake in bed. The sun wasn't even out into the sky, but birds could still be heard twittering outside of his window. He had just came in an hour ago, another night of keeping the streets of New York City safe from criminals, lawbreakers, and the bad cops. Peter had spent some time in Brooklyn, and had just missed Queens in his nightly routine simply because he was worn out from handling a group of thugs who had the bright idea of using tasers on him.

Which hurt. _A lot_.

Of course, that didn't stop his phone from vibrating over and over again on his nightstand, letting him know that he had a call in the dead of night. Grabbing it with an irritated moan, Peter checked the caller I.D. on his screen. The phone reflected back a picture of Ned throwing up the bird at him with a wide grin.

Most other times Peter wouldn't mind his best friend calling him. But why the hell was he calling him so damn early? He didn't even know Ned could be up this early!

Peter pressed the green button, the sleep still evident in his voice. "Ned, what is it?"

" _Dude, turn on your TV like right now._ "

"Why are you even up?"

" _I was trying to finish up this ToonTown Lego set and got bored since I already completed it, so then I grabbed my Millennium Falcon set! But then that got boring too 'cause we both did that a while back-_ "

"Ned! The point?"

" _Right! So I decided to watch some TV and got to the news! Just go check it out! Channel 4, dude. Before it goes off!_ "

Peter checked the time. "It's three in the morning, man! It's too early to even be alive!"

" _...But are you dead?_ "

"NED!"

" _Just go turn on the damn TV! Channel 4, right now!_ "

Peter groaned, throwing his legs slowly over the side of his bed. He stood up, slipping his white T-Shirt over his upper body. "I swear to God, Ned, it better be something good."

" _Ohoho, it is better than good. It's amazing!_ "

He crept out of his room slowly, not bothering to close his door to avoid making more noise. The last thing Peter wanted to do was wake up his Aunt May at this time. Hell hath no fury than a woman who had been working the entire Saturday and was taking a long sleep through Sunday morning. Slowly, he went down the stairs, keeping his phone to his ear as Ned was commenting happily all about how Peter was going to flip when he saw the news.

Turning on the living room TV, Peter kept the volume down to a moderate amount where he could still hear. The nightly news was on Channel 4, as Ned said, news anchors giving their hard smiles to the screen. Just the brightness of the TV made sure Peter was wide awake at that point. " _And, in other news,_ " Bob Bartley, the main news anchor of the channel news. " _We return to Rachelle Stone for the rest of the top story tonight. We all know Spider-Man is the proclaimed Guardian of New York City, but what if he had some new competition? Rachelle, tell us all what you've got!_ "

"What?" Peter whispered to himself, plopping down on the couch.

" _Hello, Bob!_ " The screen cut to Rachelle Stone, the new girl on Channel 4. You could tell just by her bright disposition. She was standing on top of a roof of a building, overlooking a long street filled with cars and bright street lights. " _And yes, you've heard it right! A new vigilante is on the streets of New York, and they've apparently made their debut here in Queens! While Spider-Man was out and about in the rest of the city, she was soaring through these neighborhoods and handling the unlawful while the web slinger was away._ "

" _Now, we don't have a clear image of the high flyer, but we have plenty of videos on social media from citizens who had a chance encounter with her!_ "

The TV cuts to a phone video, where a figure clothed in white and gold was fighting a man with a knife in his hands. Her wings were long, flapping in the air as she jumped and dodge a swipe of the man's knife. " _What the-_ " He cried out before she kicked him into the brick wall behind him. The kicker landed back on the ground, holding her arm in pain. It looked like the criminal had managed to get a cut on her. " _Shit!_ " A feminine voice shrilled in the alleyway, coming from the white and gold figure. Peter's eyes widened. This was a girl?

After inspecting her wound, she caught the camera pointed her way and gasped. " _Uh...hi?_ " She waved awkwardly. " _And bye!_ " Running off the other way of the camera, she took flight, all while the camera person cried out, "Y _eah! You go, uh...who are you?!_ "

" _WHITE EAGLE!_ " The flying figure called out, flying by and out of the camera's view. " _And I'm here to help!_ "

The news fades back to Rachelle Stone, while Peter's eyes stared intently at the frozen image that they had of this 'White Eagle' flying to the side. " _And there you have it, folks,_ " Rachelle smiled brightly at the screen. " _The name of this new hero is White Eagle, and from all accounts, she's here to help! However, the exact reason to her assistance? We may never know. Is she Spider-Man's new partner? Or his new rival? This is Rachelle Stone on the street. Back to you, Bob-_ "

Peter paused the screen before it cut back to the regular news, putting the phone up back to his ear. "This is what you woke me up for?"

" _DUDE! Yes! A new superhero in New York City?! And it's a GIRL?! This is like news breaking! I called Holly and she was just as wild about it. Also, we both agreed that she is smoking hot._ "

"You guys don't even know how she looks, Ned."

" _She's probably cute. Most superhero girls are cute. Look at Black Widow! HOT! Scarlet Witch? HOT! Having only two is a shame though._ " Ned took in a dramatic gasp. " _Dude, dude, dude! She could be a new Avenger!_ "

A new _Avenger_? Peter's interest piqued at that comment. Although, there was no way! Tony Stark wouldn't have a new Avengers member before him...right? This was a lot to take in. "Hey, Ned? I'll talk to you later, okay? I'm pretty tired."

" _Oh yeah! Sure, sorry bro. See you later! I need to update the Spider fan site anyways! Looks like he's got a new archrival!_ "

The call ended, and Peter could only imagine what Ned was going to post about all of this. Probably make up so mock Spider-Man vs. White Eagle video, knowing him. Peter's tired eyes stared at the paused frame of White Eagle, her white wings soaring through the air in a mid wave at the camera. What was she trying to pull? Where did she come from? Why was she here? And was she really his - well, was she Spider-Man's - rival?

" _Who_ are you?" He whispered to himself.

* * *

Ellie slowly crept into the apartment, her costume hidden in her bag and her pajamas on. Tiptoeing through the threshold, she pushed the door as gently as she could until it closed with a quiet click. Turning back around to step further into the apartment, the young girl spotted a rare scene.

Tanner was sprawled out on the couch, overlooking Queens in its early morning brilliance. She hated the bright yellow rays, but the way her brother was snoring and looking so peaceful made up for it. It was something she never got to see, with him always on high alert no matter where they went. But, the moment ended when a snort from the sleeping young man had Ellie jolt in surprise.

"Ellie?" A tired groan called out.

"Heeeeey, Tanner!"

"You're home?" Tanner rubbed his eyes. "Where were you? You didn't answer my phone calls, I was worried." Ellie bit the side of her mouth, suddenly remembering that she forgot to give Tanner an excuse to where she's been before she took off. "Yeah, we watched the whole Star Wars. We were all pretty tired so I ended up staying there for the night. Sorry."

"It's okay. Just lemme know next time, kiddo." Tanner stretched his body as he lifted up from the couch. He grabbed for the remote and turned on the TV. "Not much to do on a Sunday, but I'll check the weather and then I'm-"

The channel showed static. Tanner narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What?" He flipped to another channel. Static. Again, he flips. Static. "What the hell is going on with the TV?" He sighed. "I just put the antenna the other day. Shitty, cheap ass dollar store."

Ellie bit her lip, nodding slowly. "Yeah. Shitty store!" In her head, she was thanking God or whoever was up there in the sky. She had never felt more grateful for that hiccup. She had an idea that whatever she did as White Eagle the other day, it probably would've been on the news. Luckily, his burner phone was no where near getting any internet either.

Tanner sighed through his nose. "How the hell am I supposed to know the weather now?"

"If you want to know the weather you could always look outside!" Ellie quipped.

"Haha, smartass. I still needed to know the weather." Tanner looked down at his wristwatch. "Crap, I'm supposed to be at the office by now. Okay, uh, there's eggs and turkey sausage in the fridge! If you go out today, let Mr. Wilkins know so that if anything goes wrong, he'll know-"

"Tanner, I know the drill," Ellie chuckled. "I'll be fine. Just go and get ready for work."

Tanner sighed and walked over to Ellie, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Just be careful, okay? Remember our rules. Stay safe, be good, don't bring attention to yourself, and don't use your powers. Act normal. Because we-"

"Because we are normal. I know, I know! Now, hurry up and get ready for work!"

Tanner nodded and ruffled Ellie's pale white hair before climbing up the stairs. Hearing his bedroom door close, she sighed and let the tiredness finally catch up to her. Trudging over to the couch, she slumped down on it with a soft whine. "I broke all five of those already." The guilt of keeping the White Eagle thing a secret to her brother was also creeping up to her, along with the pain in her right shoulder from that one guy who cut her with his knife. But, like the wound, she'd get over it. Eventually.

A buzzing in her pocket broke her away from her thoughts, and she unzipped her backpack, moving her things over until she found her grey cellphone. Unlike Tanner, she decided to get an IPhone as her new phone. She managed to place in a mechanism that prevented bugging of any sort, but her older brother was still worried about her keeping it. Her excuse was that she could always break it should the wrong people found out about it.

Looking at her phone, she saw that it was Peter who was texting her. She grinned, sitting up on the couch. ' _hey, you! up this morning?_ ' His text read.

She quickly typed back. ' _yeah, i am. not by choice, though. long night_ '

' _studying?_ '

Ellie bites her bottom lip, chuckling to herself as she looks at her costume in her backpack. "Sure, studying," she sighs, typing that back to him. "Just ready to kick back and relax for the day."

' _same. hey, you want to hang out today?_ '

Hang out? He wanted to hang out with her? ' _just the two of us?_ '

' _i mean, yeah! if you want to_ '

Ellie instantly jumped up with an excited yell. "Yes!" She cheered. She began to jump up and down, doing a little dance around the couch with her phone in her hand. "Woo hoo!"

"Ellie?" Tanner's voice shouted from upstairs. She could hear the shower head running water in the bathroom. "Did you yell? What's going on!"

She cursed under her breath. "I'm fine! Sorry, I was just exercising!"

"Well, exercise more quietly! I'll be out the shower in a minute!"

"M'kay!" Ellie huffed and then giggled, spinning on one foot. She typed back to Peter with a wide grin. ' _what time do you want to hang, dorkazoid?_ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter, the boy and girl "hang out" and get to know each other a little better! let's hope nothing interrupts their time together.... >.>


	6. The Boy and The Girl Get Closer

After Tanner left for work, Ellie spent a whole of two hours getting ready to meet Peter at his apartment. She snatched through her wardrobe for about 45 of those minutes, then spent the next hour washing up and trying to figure out if she should put foundation and concealer or just go natural. The latter won out. Instead, she went for the more casual outfit - wearing a white tank top with a green bomber jacket and denim shorts that stopped just above the knee. Ellie looked at the ensemble in the mirror and frowned.

"Maybe I need to add something..." She thought about it for a minute, and then quickly ran over to her dresser to look through her jewelry she accumulated over the years. She grabbed her black crystal choker necklace, sliding it over her head and moving her hair out of the way. Ellie also grabbed a hair tie and pulled her long mane into a tight, high ponytail. Looking back into her long mirror, she grinned. "Now that's more like it," she mused with a smile.

Something a bit different for a change, she thought.

Slipping on her black Chuck's, Ellie was out the door with her bike, slipping her phone into its special transparent pocket in between the bike's handles. ' _Otw!_ ' She texted, getting into the apartment elevator.

'a _wesome! running a little l8te. aunt may is there._ '

' _putting 8 instead of an a just gave you full upgrade to nerd status_ '

' _hey i'm not a nerofhrjhgjfgjg_ '

"What the...?" Ellie cocked her head at his response. She tried typing him back, but she never got so much as a response. Waving it off, Ellie figured he was probably busy doing something like shopping before they went on to their...hangout? No, that wasn't the right word for it. But she couldn't call it a...well, a _date_.

"It's not a date, silly," Ellie sighed. "Just be yourself. You two are _friends_! Buddies! Companions! Any other word that describes platonic relationships! This'll be fine."

The bike ride to Peter's apartment took about 30 minutes, Ellie's legs burning from how fast she had been pedaling to get there in time. She parked it on the rack, and then entered the building. Unfortunately, the elevator was out, and so she can to climb up 20 flights of stairs just to get to Peter's floor. By the time she was in front of the Parker residence, she was out of breath and holding her stomach.

"So...many... _stairs_... _why_?" Ellie wheezed out.

Taking a minute to catch her breath, she stood up to her full height and took a last deep breath. Her fist rapped against the door when she turned fully towards it. A few minutes went by. No response.

The teenage girl clicked the back of her heels together. "Maybe I should try again?" Her hand reached up to the door once more, only for it to open with whipping speed. Ellie gave out a cry in shock, but not from the door. A green-faced woman was at the front of it, cucumber slices covering her eyes. The woman's brown hair was wrapped up in a white towel, but she was wearing a T-shirt and black yoga pants so she must've only been doing a facial.

Ellie finally recognized her after doing a double take. "Mrs...Parker?"

"Oh, hello Ellie!" Aunt May greeted Ellie with a wide grin, taking the cucumbers off of her eyes so she could see the girl outside of the apartment. "I didn't know you'd be here so soon!"

"Oh, yeah! I biked over here instead of taking a cab. Felt like it would be easier." _Flying would've been easier_ , Ellie corrected herself in her thoughts. But flying to her friend's place out of costume would have, obviously, drawn attention of the worst kind. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you-"

"What? No! Not at all! I was about to rinse this crap off anyways. It hasn't done anything for the past two weeks, so I'm getting my 30 day refund as _soon_ as possible. Come in, come in!"

Aunt May moved over to the side to let Ellie into the Parker apartment. It was pretty nice, a bit smaller than the place that she and Tanner had moved to in the past month. There was a TV in the living room along with a couch and coffee table, connecting directly to the kitchen. Pictures were on the cabinet that sat on a blue wall that divided the two rooms, one with Peter, Aunt May, and another man with sandy brown hair. Ellie didn't know who that was, but figured it was someone in Peter's family.

Aunt May walked towards the bathroom down the hall, grabbing a face towel to help wash off the facial mask. "I heard that the elevator went out an hour ago. I hope the stairs weren't too much!"

Ellie plopped down on the couch, running a hand through her ponytail. Looking at her reflection in the TV, she suddenly grew self conscious and took her hair tie out, redoing the style. "No, they were okay. I walk up stairs all of the time!"

A lie.

"You don't have to lie, hun." Ellie could hear Peter's aunt chuckle over the running water. "I hate walking up them myself!"

Ellie smiled, leaning back on the couch with a soft sigh. A few minutes went past before Aunt May came back into the living room, her long, straight hair combed over her shoulders. The older woman was now donning a pair of glasses over her eyes, sitting down next to Ellie. "So! What are you and my nephew going to do today, Ellie?"

"I have no idea. He said that he just wanted to hang out, show me around town."

Aunt May raised an eyebrow. "By yourselves?"

"Yep! It's just us, hanging out."

"So...this is a date? He's taking you on a date?"

Ellie went to answer, but only a stream of air puffed out of her mouth as the words escaped her. "W-Well...he didn't really...n-no?" Ellie struggled to find a way to say it, laughing nervously. "I wouldn't classify this... _specific_ event as a...date since we just met! Yeah, yeah, we're just...hanging out?"

"And _why_ do you sound so unsure?" Aunt May smirked.

A loud bang came from upstairs, causing the two to look at each other. "Peter!" Aunt May called over her shoulder. "Is that you coming in from the fire escape? _Again_?"

There was a small pause before the two ladies could hear Peter faintly saying "Yes" as more clatter a rustle went on in his room. "You need some help up there, Pete?" Aunt May called again.

"No, no!" Another clank from above. "Crap! Uh...don't come up! I'll...I'll be down in a second!"

Aunt May and Ellie shared a look, both of them beginning to laugh at the continued bumps and faint curses from Peter upstairs. "I'll be right back," Ellie giggled, grabbing her purse and swiftly getting up from the couch.

At almost the exact same time she went into the bathroom down the hall, Peter came down stairs taking deep breaths. Aunt May raised up from the couch, moving over to her nephew in an instant with concern on her face. "Peter, what's wrong?" May asked, looking him over. "You look like you ran a marathon!"

Peter nodded, grinning weakly. "I-I kind of...did..."

"What? What happened? You told me that you were running to the store, where's the-" Peter lifted up the bag of bread, handing it over. "...bread. It's smashed."

"I-uh, ran away from a...stray! A stray dog. Made me trip and smash the bread. And crack my phone."

"Your phone?! Peter, that's the second one _this month_!"

Peter waved his hands up in defense. "I know! But it didn't break, it's just has a crack!"

"That's probably going to spread into the rest of the screen!" Aunt May sighed, taking off her glasses and rubbing her hands over her temples. "It's fine, it's fine. Replacing a screen is better than replacing a phone. I'll take care of it."

"I could just ask Mister Stark if he could-"

Peter caught the look May gave him when he mentioned Stark's name and quickly piped down. "Never mind, you've got it." The teen boy looked around, hearing running water in the bathroom. "Is Ellie here?"

"Yes, she is. Been waiting for a good fifteen minutes for your sorry butt."

Peter immediately seemed to look less tired, his eyes brightening with excitement. Aunt May noticed this and smiled herself, folding her arms. "Oh my goodness. This _is_ a date, isn't it?"

"It's not a date! We-" Peter looked over his aunt's shoulder to see if Ellie was still in the bathroom. Lowering his voice, he continued. "We're...we're not going on a date."

"So I've been told. Then what are you two doing together all by yourselves, exactly?"

"We're...you know, we're hanging out. I mean, she just moved here-"

"Uh huh." It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Aunt May was not convinced.

Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets. "And I figured that I could show her some of the places that I hang out at to, you know, help her get around town. And we're friends so we're hanging out at the same time." May still held a skeptical look at her young nephew. "It's not a date, Aunt May!"

"Okay, kiddo, you keep telling yourself that. Just make sure to bring her home by 10. I'm sure Tanner would be a bit worried if she wasn't back by then."

Peter nodded, remembering how overprotective Tanner appeared when he first met him at the school. If he brought Ellie home too late, only God knows how the older Duncan brother would feel about them being together alone.

Hearing the bathroom door open, Peter turned around to see Ellie appear from the bathroom hallway in her ensemble. He eyed her for a few moments, a slow, lazy grin coming up on his face. Aunt May's hand on his shoulder finally broke him out of his daze. "Um, wow, you look...you look great, El."

Ellie smiled bashfully, looking down at her feet and biting her bottom lip. "Thanks. You, uh..." She looked up and down and an amused grin crossed her face. "You look like you just ran a lot."

"I did! From a cat."

Aunt May cleared her throat. "You said it was a dog."

"Right! Dog, cat! I ran from a dog and then I saw a cat. That's, that's what I meant!" Before Aunt May could try and ask any further, Peter grabbed Ellie's hand and pulled her towards the door. "Well, Aunt May, we've got to go! Tour of Queens, here we go!"

"Stop right there!" The aunt stopped the two by grabbing Ellie's other hand, Peter groaning as he turned around. "Peter, be careful out there. Make sure all of your stuff is on you at all times, and stay close to Ellie. Especially since she doesn't know the town. Last thing you want is to get lost." She directed her last sentence to Ellie, who nodded.

"Okay! Great, thanks Aunt May! We got it!" Peter quickly opened the door and pulled Ellie out of his aunt's grip. "Let's go!"

Ellie laughed, running behind him. "Okay, okay! It was nice to see you, Mrs. Parker!"

"Hey, wait! Peter Benjamin Parker!" Aunt May called back to him, but they were already going down the stairs. She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Have fun on your _not_ -date, you two!"

* * *

The two made their way around Queens for that whole afternoon, Peter telling Ellie all about the best spots to check out in town. From Peter's favorite place, the New York Hall of Science, to someplace Ellie was highly interested in, the Flushing Meadows Park. Riding the bus there was simple, and they spent most of their time trading stories about the homework they received over the weekend and other topics. By the time they entered the park, the teens came across an ice cream cart jiggling along.

"Thank god!" Ellie exclaimed in delight, pulling Peter over to the Dippin' Dots cart. Pulling out her money from her bag, she grinned over at her shaggy haired friend. "What's your poison, Parker?"

Peter hummed, looking at the selection as if he was in serious thought. Snapping his fingers, he looked over to Ellie with a affirmative nod. "Mint Chocolate is the way to go."

Ellie instantly recoiled with a look of disgust. "Heeeeell no!"

"What? It's delicious!"

"There are many things in this world that go together, Peter. Mint and chocolate are not one of those things." Ellie turned back to the Dippin' Dots seller and told him that she wanted plain strawberry dots. Peter snorted, shaking his head and paying for his ice cream while she paid for hers. "What's the snort for?" Ellie playfully narrowed her eyes.

"Strawberry? Never took you to be so plain and predictable, _Eileen_."

Ellie swiftly shoved him on his shoulder, making him laugh as she stomped along the path. He caught up to her, grabbing her hand and spinning her around. Peter caught her in his arms, their cups of ice cream still (thankfully) in their grasps. "Woah, slow down! You mad, bro?"

"Boy!" Ellie looked up at him with a pout. "Don't play with me! You know it's Ellie, never Eileen! Got it?"

Peter couldn't help but grin. Even her pouting was cute. "You got it, boss."

"Boss?"

"You're bossy. It fits."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Take that back!"

"I can't, even if I wanted to! It's scientific facts!"

"I'll show you scientific facts, nerd boy!"

An older couple walked passed the two and smiled, chuckling to each other. "Aren't they cute?" The woman asked her man with a bright smile.

"Young love, never fails," The older man responded.

Peter and Ellie both looked down at what positions they were in and, from an outsider's point of view, it would definitely appear that they were embracing each other. Peter quickly let go of Ellie and the two fell into an awkward silence. Peter was blushing red, while a flustered Ellie kept stuffing spoonful of strawberry ice cream into her mouth. Regaining her composure, Ellie sighed and held her throat. "Ugh! Throat freeze!"

"Th-That's what happens when you stuff ice cream down your throat, silly!"

Ellie stuck her tongue out at Peter, him doing the same. Realizing how silly they both looked now, they started laughing. Walking down the long road toward the Meadow Lake, an idea hit the white haired girl's head. "You know...we still don't know much about each other, do we?"

"We...we don't. You're right about that." Peter cleared his throat. "Ladies first, I guess."

"Well then! Knock yourself out!"

"Come on, Ellie!"

"Okay, okay!" Ellie began to ponder just what she could tell him about herself. "I'm a Virgo, I like long walks on the beach, and-" Peter nudged her on her side. "Right, serious. I am a Virgo, honestly! Uh, I like books? Science fiction being my favorite. Movies are a plus. Love movies, I'd kill to see movies for free every day. But the only way to do that is to work at a movie theater, and I am not about to give into the man's system."

She heard Peter chuckle. "The man?"

"Capitalism, Parker. It's the chain that binds us all to our downward spiral in economics." Peter just laughs. "Anyways, uh, there's a lot of crap that I like! I just never really got to do it with anyone besides my brother until recently. You, Holly, and Ned were the first people I've ever had a movie marathon with. My first friends."

Peter looked at her, seeing her forlorn eyes. "Ellie...?"

"Huh?"

"We're your first friends?"

She gives him a sad smile, shrugging. "You don't make a lot of friends when you move every year, Pete." Wrinkling her nose, she stuffs her mouth with another spoonful of strawberry ice cream. "Anyways, enough about me! What's our story, Parker?"

"My story?"

"Yeah! What makes Midtown's great whiz tick? I gotta know."

Peter cleared his throat. "I mean, what do you want to know?"

Ellie's eyebrows crinkled together as she tried to formulate a few questions. "What's your favorite color?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yellow."

"Do you like animals?"

"Sure! I'm more of a dog lover than a cat one though."

Ellie nodded. "What about birds?"

"One time, I tried giving some pigeons seeds in this very park, and they shitted on me and everyone in a five mile radius." Ellie burst out laughing, snorting through her cackle. "It's not funny! ...Okay, it's kind of funny."

"Kind of?! Ha! It's terrible! Oh wow!" Wiping a tear from her eye, she continued. "Favorite book?"

"Hmm...Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

"Ah! Good choice!" Ellie finally got down to a question that had been bothering her for a while. "Why are you staying with your aunt? Are your parents away on a vacation or something?"

Peter paused, his head bowing down with a tight smile. It's been a while since he's been asked this from anyone, the last person to ask being Ned. "Uh...my parents died a while back. In a plane crash." He didn't need to see Ellie tense up to know the words that would come out of her mouth.

"Oh. Peter, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, really. You couldn't have known. Besides, I barely remember it. My Aunt May and my Uncle Ben took care of me ever since after that. Like I was their own son. It kind of made things better. They mean a lot to me." Ellie didn't bother to ask him where or what happened to his uncle, and Peter was secretly glad that she didn't.

Ellie took another bite out of her ice cream. One more thing in common, she thought to herself. "Wow. That topic escalated quickly."

Peter laughed nervously, running a hand through his nose. "Super heavy, Duncan. But, hey, you know what could lighten the mood?"

Ellie scrunched up her face. "What?"

"This!" Peter took a small blob of ice cream from his cup and smeared it on Ellie's nose, making her screech in horror. "Peter Parker! You little...!" She shouted, quickly retaliating by throwing her own glob of ice cream at him. It hit square in his chest, but the laughing boy didn't have time to fight back before she threw another glob. He ducked just in time, only for it to hit the woman in front of them.

They both winced at the impact, watching the ice cream slide down her...suit? It wasn't like a business suit, but a metal suit. The woman whipped around to glare at the two, only for both Peter and Ellie to feel their senses go tingling. They both thought one word at the same time: "Shit."

The stranger looked down at her high tech costume and then back up at them, a snarl forming on her face. "Did you. Just throw. Ice cream _at my suit_?"

Ellie hid her ice cream cup behind her back, shaking her head. "N-No, nope! That would be so...weird! Who throws ice cream at random people?"

"Crazy people!" Peter chimed in. "That's who!" He threw his cup over his shoulder far away before grabbing Ellie's hand and attempting to turn the other way. "And we are not crazy! So we'll be on our way!"

"Toodles!"

The strange woman pressed a button on her suit, and held the item that came out with an evil grin. "Foolish children! You will be the first subjects of my demonstration!"

The two could hear a click sound behind them, an object rolling on the ground right next to them. Ellie and Peter's eyes both widen to see that of a beeping grey sphere, blinking in purple. Ellie didn't know what it was, but Peter knew all too well. Quickly grabbing Ellie into his arms, he charged away as fast as he could before the sphere's rapid beeping came to a stop.

An explosion ripped through the air of the public park, sending those in the vicinity of the blast flying. Peter and Ellie dived into a bush just before impact, shielding each other. Ellie's sensitive hearing was affected by the blast, obscuring her senses. She could faintly hear people screaming, fire burning nearby and...blood? She looked up and saw a gash on Peter's forehead, bleeding profusely.

"Peter...your head..." Ellie stated groggily.

"It's fine! Don't worry about it! Are you okay?" Peter looked her over checking for wounds. She barely had a scratch on her, except for the skin burn on her arm. He didn't know if that came from the explosion, or them scraping the ground too hard.

She held her head, all she could hear was ringing. "What? I can't...I can't hear..."

Peter clenched his teeth and looked back through the bushes. The woman was smiling wickedly through all of the chaos, producing more spheres from her suit. "I am _Explosia_!" She cried out, her blonde hair whipping through the wind. "Agent of strife and discord! Bring Spider-Man to me, and I shall move my destruction elsewhere! Don't, and I'll blow this park and the city to hell!"

"Can't I ever just get a day off?!" Peter muttered bitterly. Looking back at Ellie, he sighed. "Ellie, I don't know if you can hear me, but stay here! Okay?"

"I don't understand, Pete..."

He held her face in his hands, looking at her intently. "Ellie, look at me! You're going to be fine, alright! I swear I'll get you out of this! I'll go get help, just  _stay_ here!"

He took off like lightning out of the bushes, avoiding the bombs as Explosia threw them out into the crowd. The ringing in Ellie's ears stopped, but Peter was nowhere to be found.

"Peter? Pete?" He wasn't in the crowd, she couldn't see him with her regular vision. He had vanished. " _Peter_?!"

Ellie started shifting her eyes through the retreating crowd, her telescopic vision taking effect. There were a couple of teenage boys in the crowd, most with their phones out to record Explosia's outfit and antics near the lake at a safe distance. Shaking her head, Ellie couldn't help but curse. "Goddamn it, Peter, _where are you_?!"

Ellie heard the crazed woman cackle again, and her priorities shifted. Groaning, the girl slapped her cheeks and tried to get herself back in the game. "You got this. First big villain, has explosives, still civilians in the area. Has to be quick. Safe. Focus...focus!"

Grabbing at her bag, she unzipped it to unveil her White Eagle costume. It was going to be awkward changing in a bush of all places, but everyone's attention was thankfully more focused on getting out of dodge. Ellie reasoned that she could look for Peter later.

But for now, White Eagle had a super villain to deal with. And Explosia wasn't going to know what hit her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter, spider-man and white eagle? working together? it's more likely than you think
> 
> also a quick reminder! fanfic blog is thedoeduchess.tumblr.com if you want to keep up with updates and other things!


	7. The Bird and the Spider Work Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another long wait, but it's a-okay! 'cause it's here!!!

"Run, you little fools! Run!"

Explosia cackled watching the civilians run while she continued to throw her bombs where ever she could. Through the smoke and fire that was starting to spread to the burning trees, the villain looked down at her clock. "He said he would be here," Explosia muttered, clicking her fingers over her metallic belt. She was told by a client of hers that Spider-Man would come to her should she cause enough of a ruckus. All she would have to do was play her part and get paid in full afterwards.

What they wanted him for was of no concern of hers. She just needed her paycheck.

"He should be here soon..." Explosia pouted. "Or was I given the wrong information?"

A shadow above her snapped Explosia out of her thoughts. She smirked, ready to give her villainous introduction. "Spider-Man...?" She cooed.

" _Guess again_ , Explosia!"

Explosia looked up and watched as a winged stranger landed on the ground in front of her on one knee. They lifted up, and the masked figure narrowed their eyes at the taller woman, crossing their arms. From the costumed newcomer's appearance and eyes, they looked like a short young girl.

"Guess who's here to rain on your parade!"

Explosia blinked in confusion. "You're-You're not Spider-Man! Who are you?"

"Ha! That's funny, good one. Of course you know who I am!"

"Uh...no. I don't, actually."

Wings stretched out in confidence seemed to descend slowly. "W-Wait! Seriously?! You don't know me?! I've been all over the news! White Eagle? High flying vigilante? Here to help? Stop you?"

Explosia pondered for a moment. "Hmmm...I don't know."

White Eagle sighed, tapping her feet to the ground. "Still nothing?"

"Gimme a sec..."

"I mean, do you need any hints-"

"I'll get this! Just hold on!"

"Any day now would be nice!"

"I just...I don't think I do-" Explosia suddenly gasped and snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah! Now I remember!"

White Eagle's grin was easy to spot through the brown mask. "Oh my god! Really? That's grea-"

"Spider-Man's new side kick, right?"

White Eagle's triumphant eyes quickly turned into a look of irritation, throwing her hands in the air in defeat. "Oh,  _come on_! How many times do I have to say it? I'm  _not_  his side kick! I don't even know the guy!"

"Well, whoever you are,  _you're dead_!"

The villain pulled two balls from her arsenal belt, jumping up to throw them at the winged vigilante. Eagle was faster, however, quickly jumping and dodging the balls of destruction. She flew up to not get recoiled by the explosions that followed.

"What's the matter, Atomic Blonde?" Eagle jested above with a chuckle. "Don't have a good throwing arm?"

Explosia gritted her teeth, going for another device in her belt. However, this is not a sphere like the others. It's a cube, colored like copper with six pale buttons on each of its sides.

"Oh, don't worry!" Explosia grinned wickedly. "This one is sure to be a home run!"

Clicking one button, Explosia pitched and threw the cube into the air towards White Eagle. The high flyer merely dodged once again in a showy spin, smirking back down at the bomb wielding woman.

"Haven't we've been over this? You're not gonna hit-"

The cube opened with a loud pop, releasing three floating spheres that quickly surrounded White Eagle. The novice hero's eyes widened, flying into the air to try and avoid the beeping bombs. Only problem was these little guys were different from the other ones - they could actually follow her every move.

"Holy shitake mushrooms!"

White Eagle looked over her shoulder to see the spheres closing in on her, beeping rapidly. Even if she wasn't in the direct line of fire, there was going to be no escaping it. She began looking around, cursing under her breath over and over as she looked for a way to shake them off of her before they managed to explode. Seeing the abandoned ice cream stand that she went to earlier, White Eagle had an idea.

But it was going to suck.

"Alright, bomb squad!" Eagle exclaimed. "Follow me!"

She dipped down towards the ground, gliding closer and closer towards the stand. The sphere bombs were nearly upon her, the beeping getting more rapid.

"Come on, come, on, come on," Eagle pleaded under her breath.

At the last moment, just as White Eagle got in front of the stand, her wings pushed her upwards into the air. The bombs collided into the wooden stand, exploding in an instant. Eagle could feel the heat under her feet as the explosion sent her further upward, disorienting her intended flight path. Her wings stuttered, the clumsy take off making Eagle wobble towards the ground.

"Woah, woah, woah!"

Eagle hit the ground hard, rolling over and over until she stopped face first on the dirt ground. She groaned, lifting her mask slightly to spit out a wad of blood from her mouth. "Oww! Damn it...oh, that's painful. So painful."

A pair of red covered feet landed in front of her, and she slowly looked up to see a black and red hand stretched out to her. Grabbing it, she painfully lifted up to see a familiar mask looking down at her and, while she couldn't see his face, she could feel the tension already around the both of them.

"Spider-Man?" White Eagle blinked up at him in shock.

"White Eagle. At least I think that's your name, right?"

"Y-Yeah, it is! Wow, you're here! You're really here! That's great! I'd jump up with glee, but I'm pretty sure I fractured a rib." Eagle winced. "Nope, nope, two ribs. Definitely two ribs."

"Uh huh. So, quick question, Birdie: why are you in my neighborhood?"

The question caught Eagle off guard. " _Your_  neighborhood? Huh, never knew you lived in Queens! Well, from a native to a newbie, I just happened to be around. Thought you might need some help with Bam Bam over there." She noticed his frown through the mask. "You could, I don't know, say...thanks, White Eagle, for hopping in when I wasn't here! You're awesome! I'm oh-so grateful?"

"Grateful? You managed to burn up a quarter of Flushing Park!"

"I didn't burn it up! Your admirer over there was the one with all the bombs and explosives! And just what the hell took you so long?! I thought she was going to burn my feathers off!"

"I was getting the civilians out of the area so no one would get harmed! But you know, since this is just all a  _performance_  to you, you probably didn't think about that, did you?"

Eagle sputtered, "A performance?! Why, I outta-!"

"Look, just stand back here and let the professionals handle this, alright? You've done enough from the looks of things."

"Excuse me?!"

"You're excused. Now, I have to go stop a madwoman from burning the whole park. Bye bye, Birdie!"

Spider-Man left a furious White Eagle with that snide comment, jumping up and shooting webs at trees that weren't burning. Eagle stood there, flabbergasted. Embarrassed. And, most importantly,  _pissed_.

"Professional, my ass!" Eagle shouted at his leaving form. "And it's White Eagle!"

* * *

Spider-Man quickly hid behind a tree while Explosia's back was turned. He stared down at the partially scorched ground, sighing deeply. ' _I hope Ellie got away_ ,' He thought to himself, thinking as Peter Parker for a moment. If she got hurt in all of this, he'd never forgive himself. The last thing he ever wanted was for her to get caught in the cross fire. Why couldn't he have just one day of fun and relaxation without having to be Spider-Man?

He took a sneak peek at Explosia over his shoulder and his high tech spider eye lens closed in to zoom at her utility belt. "Get the belt, no more exploding," Spider-Man sighed to himself. "Easy peasy! I hope..."

Or it would be easy if some high flying rookie didn't come and try to fight again.

The unexpected arrival of White Eagle had his mind reeling once again on who she was and what her motives were. He hadn't caught the chance to call Mr. Stark about her, or whether or not she has anything to do with the Avengers. All he knew was she was reckless, running into a battle that she could've easily gotten killed in. While her quick thinking with that stall saved her, close calls like that were just too close. He'd have to watch out for her, something he wasn't too fond of.

Hopefully, she took the hint and got out of dodge. But, something told Peter that she wouldn't scare easy.

He climbed up the tree, figuring that if he managed to surprise Explosia it would give him an advantage. Aiming his web shooters at her back, he readied the mark. "Almost got it...almost...no-!"

The branch under him began to crack, throwing him off balance. Spider-Man managed to catch his footing, but his web shooters went off at the wrong time. "No, no!" He exclaimed. The webbing missed their mark by barely an inch, hitting the ground next to Explosia with a smack. The blonde jumped in surprise, and looked up to where the source of the shot came from. She grinning wickedly, clapping her hands together.

"Spider-Man! Oh, you've finally arrived!"

The vigilante shuddered. "Oh boy..." The web slinger jumped from his hiding space and landed a few yards away from Explosia, his hands falling to his hips. "Explosia! I heard that you were looking for me? Care to explain why?"

"Oh, can't a girl just call up to meet a new friend?" Explosia placed a hand on her hip, pursing her lips. "Perhaps a new playmate, even?"

"Lady, believe me when I say you're  _not_  my type. In age  _and_  in looks! Now, what do you want?"

Explosia sighed and placed her hands behind her back. "Well, since you've asked so nicely, I guess I could tell you a tiny bit. I was hired to find you."

"Hired?"

"Oh, yes. Someone's put a lot of money on your head, Spider." Pulling her palms from behind, Explosia smirks brandishing triangle shaped metal. "And I'm just here to collect my reward."

She threw the makeshift devices at Spider-Man, who flipped continuously to dodge them. But, just like the other bombs, these were very special from the rest. Rapidly beeping, the triangle bombs spun themselves into the ground. Stopping on his last flip, the spider whooped, getting his web shooters ready.

"Ha! Well, you'll have to work better than...that? Where did they go?"

Spider-Man scratched the back of his neck, looking over at the smirking Explosia.

"Okay, Explosia, what did you do- SHIT!"

An explosive went off right next to him, throwing his entire body into the tree on the side. Groaning, he slowly got up and moved before another underground explosion went off where he would've been standing. His googles kept trying to help his eyesight focus, but he just felt too disoriented. Explosia was ready, aiming a rectangular device at the stumbling Spider-Man.

"This was easier than I thought," She chuckled darkly.

Moving her arm back to throw, Explosia laughed in triumph before feeling something land at the back of her head. She went stumbling, her object flying out of her hand as she rolled forward.

White Eagle landed down directly behind her, holding her side. "That was for earlier, you maniacal weirdo!" Eagle looked down at the villainess, but was confused when she spotted something quite peculiar. The blonde wig that was to Explosia's side, and the pixie cut brunette who seemed to be groaning on the ground. Eagle quickly picked it up, inspecting it.

"Hey, nice wig!"

Explosia gasped, quickly getting up and snatching the blonde wig from White Eagle's hands. "YOU LITTLE-!"

"Uh oh!"

White Eagle dodged a punch from the woman, kicking Explosia's feet so she could fall down to the ground again. While she was getting up, Eagle glided over to Spider-Man and helped lift him up to take him farther from the explosive artisan.

"Let me go!" Spider-Man tapped roughly on Eagle's arms.

"OW!"

Her angry eyes darted down on him and Eagle gritted her teeth. "Fine! Wish granted!"

She dropped him hard on the ground, behind a shrubbery not to far away from Explosia. She didn't take notice to where the two were, as she was still trying desperately to get her wig on back in place. Spider-Man jumped up, rolling his shoulders and trying to get his head right.

"Could've been a little more gentle!"

"Oh! I'm sorry," White Eagle scoffed. "I'm pretty sure I heard you say the words, let me go!"

"I know what I said!"

"Then be careful what you wish for, web head!"

"Ugh!" Spider-Man shook his head. "I don't have time for you! I've got to stop her."

White Eagle quickly grabbed his arm before he tried to go out on the brick road. "What are you, nuts?! If I hadn't swooped down in time, you'd be Spider-Barbecue!"

"I had it under control! What were you doing, getting in the way?!"

"Um, helping you! Obviously!"

"Yeah, sure. Helping me by caring us away from the psychotic bomb lady who could literally destroy the entire park with one belt! Nice, thank you so much for the assist, White Eagle! I am so touched!"

"Now listen up, you ungrateful arachnid!" Eagle grabbed onto the front of his suit, pulling him in close so that he could focus his attention on her. " _You_  don't like me, and I  _certainly_  don't like you! But what I'm going to need you to do is get your head in the game instead of trying to get yourself killed!"

Spider-Man pushed her off of him, getting heated up. "Oh, so this is a  _game_  to you?!"

"That's not what I said!"

"I specifically heard you say 'game' in that sentence! Or is that not what you said?!"

"Stop missing the point!" White Eagle sighed, rubbing her temples. "Look, I'm going to go and distract the explosive lady in need of anger management. You need to sneak up on her and use those web shooters of yours to pin her down when you see the chance! 'Cause if you don't, we're both dead! Got it?"

Spider-Man's googles narrowed at Eagle, but he slowly nodded. "...Got it."

"Good! Now, let's go bag us a villain!"

"Hey, wait-!"

White Eagle jumped up in the air and quickly swooped down over Explosia, who screeched out in terror as her blonde wig was once again taken off by one of Eagle's talons.

"GIVE ME BACK MY HAIR!" A now brunette Explosia shouted.

"What's the magic word, Goldilocks?" Eagle laughed. "Or is it Goldiknots? 'Cause man, does this wig need a comb through!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"That's not the magic- CRAP!"

Spider-Man sighed. "More like _she'll_ get us killed."

Seeing no other options, he moved the impromptu plan into action. He quickly leaped out as Explosia's violent attention was centered towards Eagle, who was dodging bombs left from right as best as she could. He rolled behind her, aiming both web shooters at the villainess's utility belt. Pressing the buttons, the white synthetic webbing hit their mark with a wet splat. He pulled as hard as he could, almost pulling Explosia along with the belt as he ripped it off from her waist.

"What?!" Explosia screeched, grabbing for it but missing. "NO! You vile little vermin! Give it back!"

Spider-Man dodged the charging Explosia and wagged his finger, throwing the belt up to White Eagle. "I don't think so, Explosia! Your days of bomb throwing are over!"

He shot a web grenade straight at the brunette's back, and watched as it exploded into an array of webs around her.

"AH!"

Explosia was now stuck face first onto the ground, unable to move thanks to all of the webbing on her body. White Eagle landed softly on the ground, looking at the woman covered in webbing. The white feather super girl grinned through her mask and threw Explosia's belt on her shoulder.

"Looks like she just got caught...web-handed!"

No soon after she said this, a bomb that had rolled away from Eagle's rough handling hit the Meadows Lake, exploding and firing a large spring of water that hit both of the heroes in large amounts. White Eagle sheepishly looked at Spider-Man and smiled.

"Haha...whoops?"

"...Give me the belt."

White Eagle pouted, handing it over and shaking off the water from her wings. As the dust settled, police cars arrived on the scene as well as a crowd of onlookers to watch them arrest Explosia. They quickly took pictures of the two superheroes, who were quickly waving and trying to make a getaway before the police had the bright idea of possibly questioning them. Spider-Man pulled Eagle to the side to have a small 'chat'.

"Well, well, well!" Eagle gave him a shit eating grin through her mask. "Looks like we managed to save the day after all!"

Spider-Man folded his arms. "Barely. This is strictly a one time only package, Birdie."

"One time? Come on, look at what happened! You're pretty new to this too, right? And so am I! With both of our skills combined, we kicked that lady's ass! I mean, well, I did most of the ass kicking but-"

"You did not! And we're not going to be partners. You're reckless, impulsive-"

"So are you!"

"Well...! No, no, I'm not reckless!"

White Eagle huffed and folded her arms. "So, going in half-cocked after a woman with bombs and anger issues is not reckless?"

"Whatever! Now that you see how dangerous this job can be, I think this calls for an early retirement, don't you?"

"Nope! Sorry, Spider-Boy, but I'm here to stay." Eagle stepped closer to him, looking him up and down with defiant eyes. "You can either get with the program or stay mad. Until then, I've got better things to be doing than staying here with you! See ya!"

Before he had a chance to retort, she jumped up into the air in flight. Spider-Man growled, jumping up and shooting webs in the opposite direction.

"It's Spider- _Man_!" He shouted back over his shoulder.

He heard her response and looked to see her shooting him the middle finger. " _Bite me_!"

"Not in your life!"

All the while, a lone blue haired woman stands behind the crowd watching the two superheroes fly and swing their separate ways. Turning around, she pulled out a burner phone and typed on the buttons to call her contact. With a responsive click after the ringing tone, she spoke with a monotone report.

"Explosia was taken into custody. Capture of Spider-Man was unsuccessful."

"Not surprising," The voice on the other line spoke gravely. "He was always going to be a hard catch. We'll get him soon enough. How was the assessment?"

"Perfect. He's everything you hoped for, sir. But..."

"Don't leave me in suspense, my dear. What else is there to say?"

She turns around to watch White Eagle's flying form, a small yet sinister smile on her face. "There's a new player on the board. One that I think you'll find...  _quite_  intriguing."

"...I'm listening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> clutch your pearls, gals, because it's about to get really messy from here on out


	8. The Girl Gets a Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feelings get out in the open, and things go from 0 to 100 pretty quick~
> 
> also this is a time skip to a month and a half later~

"Hey."

Ellie and Holly looked up to find a tall, curly-haired girl who sat down in front of their table in study hall. Ellie squirmed a little in her seat at the stare she felt towards her. Holly, however, was far from uncomfortable. Seeing as she knew exactly who it was.

"Michelle?" Holly raised a brow. "What are you doing here? I thought you were studying down the hall in the private rooms with Ned and Peter."

Michelle shrugged her shoulders and closed the book in her hand. "I was, but then I got bored and decided to come out and see who else was here besides those losers. Not surprised you guys are the only ones here."

"Why's that?"

"'Cause you're losers too."

Holly sighed and gestured to Michelle. "Ellie! This is Michelle. Michelle, Ellie! You two would probably get along, if not for Chelle's defense mechanism of being a introvert to all who speak to her."

"Don't call me Chelle, Lee. And I am not an introvert, I'm a observer. Difference." Michelle glanced at Ellie, her face still neutrally passive. "And I know who she is."

Ellie's eyes widened. "You know who I am?"

Michelle nodded "Sure. You're that girl who kicked Griffin Clyde's ass with her head. Everyone knows who you are."

Ellie perked up. "O-Oh!"

"They also think you're nuts and I'm pretty sure the entire football team hates you."

"O-Oh..."

Ellie looked over at Holly, who looked away and quickly flipped a page in her book, humming a little tune. "You knew?!"

"I've been keeping the meatheads away from your locker these past few weeks. Sharpie pen is a bitch to wipe off, believe me. The cheerleaders were a different story. I basically had to blackmail them so they wouldn't try anything."

Michelle hummed. "With what?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be blackmail anymore, now would it?"

"Wait!" Ellie shook her head, slamming her history book shut. "Is that why Samantha and Emily didn't let me on the dancing squad?!"

"...Yeeeeah. Sorry, bud. Didn't want you to find out this way."

Ellie groaned, her head slumping forward onto the cold hardwood table. "My life...my life is struggle."

Michelle grimaced and slowly leaned forward, awkwardly patting Ellie on her head. Holly gave the bookworm a pointed look. "What? This is my way of sympathizing."

"We really need to work on your social skills, babe."

The white haired teen girl knew it was a long shot, but she didn't think she wouldn't make the team simply because people at this school held grudges for their jerk of a friend! "It's fine, it's fine." Ellie blew a strand of hair from her face. "I just...really wanted to join a club or something. You know, make the high school experience something that isn't just going to class and not having anything to do after school."

In the back of her mind, she figured she could do that and pull off her secret evening activities without a hitch. Not like she'd have the chance to do it now.

"Well, maybe you could join something else! Gymnastics?" Holly suggested.

"They said that I couldn't even climb a rope right. So no."

"Swimming?"

"I beat their record time, but then they told me that they were already filled up."

"Softball?"

"The bat flew out of my hands and hit their star player in the face. Safe to say that's a no too."

"Volleyball? Tennis? Basketball?"

Ellie went to tell Holly the story, but a finger pressed against her lips. "No! Don't tell me, I already know. Looks like all of the sports teams have blacklisted you. Clyde, that meathead. I'd sock him in his face if he wasn't so damn tall!"

"You know," Michelle's voice raised up. "You could join the decathlon team. We need a new member for the school year."

"A...decathlon team?'

Holly whipped her face as fast as lightning. A great big grin was on her face. "OH MY GOD, CHELLE, YOU GENIUS!"

"SSSSH!"

The librarian quickly shushed Holly, who waved back at her. "Yeah, yeah, sorry!" Turning back to Michelle and Ellie, she clapped her hands together softly. "That is the greatest idea I've ever heard! Michelle, I didn't know you had it in you! Inviting other people to things you're in. I'm so proud!"

"Don't get a big head about it," Michelle scoffed. "I just figured we needed more people on the team with who we had so far."

"Again, what's a decathlon team?"

Michelle began to explain to Ellie. "Okay, the academic decathlon is basically where a group of students with better than average GPAs answer a bunch of multiple choice questions like in the Super Quiz, then we've got to do one event where someone takes a question and makes an impromptu AND a prepared speech for different prompts, and then we have to write an essay about whatever theme the quiz was or language and literature."

Ellie blinked and looked at Holly who nodded. "Yeeeeeah, it's a lot. That's why I quit last year. I figured at least Liz could handle all of that."

"The less of the student council on there, the better."

"Tactfully put, Michelle."

Ellie thought about it for a moment, humming low. "Well, I don't know-"

"And Peter's on the team too."

Ellie quickly grinned at Michelle. "No way! Really?"

Holly smiled. "Now you've done it. You pulled the Peter name drop."

"The Peter what?"

Her friend giggled. "It's that thing you do when someone mentions Peter. You get all excited and agree to anything and everything if someone says he has anything to do with something."

Ellie gaped at her friend looking back to Michelle, who nodded. "I-I...do not...I do not do that!"

Michelle raised a brow. "You just did it."

"Did not!"

"Did too."

"Did NOT!"

"Keep quiet!" The librarian hissed at the group of girls once again. Holly waved her off once again, while Ellie hid her face. After the book stacking woman disappeared, Holly clapped a hand behind Ellie's back.

"You're totally in love with him."

Ellie gasped and shook her head. "I am not in love with him!"

"She's right," Michelle cut in. "She's more like infatuated."

"Not that either!"

"Oh, come on!" Holly grinned at Ellie, who looked less than convinced. "You two have been hanging out nonstop these past few weeks. Ice cream here, movies there. Hell, if anyone knew any better, I'd say you two were dating."

Ellie sputtered on her words, mouth opening and closing. "Wh-What...y-you...you have no idea! We...well...it wasn't...we were just...We're not...! Well, I think we're not...I mean, he never said they were dates at all!"

"Oh wow." Michelle grabbed her textbook and stood up. "Well, while you're trying to get your brain together, I'm going to split. Think about the whole decathlon thing."

"Bye, Chelle!"

"...I hate you, Lee."

Even as Michelle was leaving, Ellie was still struggling to say what she had on her mind. "We are NOT dating! Yes, that is what I am trying to say! So there! ...Aaaaand she's gone."

"Yup. Left while you were trying to deny the facts." Ellie slumped in her seat. "Look, it's not bad that you like him! Seriously, what's the problem?"

"I don't know. Maybe that he probably doesn't like me that way?"

"Sure, he does!"

Ellie scrunched her face up. "Yeah, right. But what about Liz? I thought you said he liked her!"

"True." Holly closed her textbook. "But, you know the weirdest thing? Ever since you guys started hanging out, he barely ever mentions her. And trust me, this guy used to ask me  _everything_  about her since I'm with her most of the time. Now, he's just keeps asking me about you. Guys are like...so damn fickle about girls, it's nuts. "

Ellie sighed. "What does he ask?"

"You know, the usual. What's your favorite color, is your hair really naturally white, what kind of guys you're into-"

"HE DID NOT!"

"QUIET IN THE STUDY HALL!"

"We are having a teenage crisis over here, Mrs. P!" Holly exclaimed to the librarian. "Being quiet will not help!"

"If you two troublemakers don't keep it down, I will personally see that you get detention for the entire month! Now, study and shut up!"

Mrs. P quickly strutted off with a affirmative snort, going to try and bother a young couple she spotted going into the many long halls of bookcases. Holly rolled her eyes, turning back to a bewildered Ellie. "She's just mad she isn't at home watching Young and the Restless with her cat. And he did too, Ells. Face it! You and him got it baaaaad for each other."

Ellie ran a hand through her hair. "Are you sure? Like, you're not messing with me?"

"Dude, I'm telling you! It's a sure thing!"

Peter? Having a  _crush_  on her? Ellie would have to hear it from the actual pot and kettle to believe it. Thinking about him liking her the way she likes him did, admittedly, make her pretty giddy. "Okay. You got me. I guess I should finally tell him anyway."

"Yes! Huzzah! Am I a master matchmaker or what? Cupid better watch out!"

Ellie snorted with a smile. "You wish. And hey, I'm trusting you on this, Holl. I think I'd be depressed forever if this goes south."

"Hey! Would your best friend ever steer you wrong?" Holly grinned but then cleared her throat nervously. "Just, uh, don't ask him first, yeah?"

The white haired girl raised a brow. "Why?"

"...'Cause I may or may not have made a bet to see which one of you finally bites the bullet and I picked Peter just for funsies."

Needless to say, Ellie's outraged shouts and Holly's loud explanation got the two thrown out of the library.

* * *

Peter and Ned sat across from each other in silence in the study room, Ned focusing on his World History homework and Peter on his Microbiology. It carried on like this for a bit before Peter finally said what he wanted to say after Michelle left the room.

"I think I might ask her out."

Ned pauses writing on his paper to look at Peter, who was fiddling with his pencil staring down at his blank sheet. "Wait, what?"

"I'm...I'm thinking about asking out someone and I need some, I don't know, advice." Peter couldn't go to Mr. Stark for this, mainly because it felt weird and he figured that he'd give him advice that he wasn't all too ready to hear about women.

"Who are we talking about here?" Ned gasped, leaning forward. "Are you talking about Liz Allen?"

"L-Liz?!"

"Dude, no way! I thought we had this thing where we would just see her and comment on how awesome her hair and outfits were! Good on you for finally trying to make the first move." Ned patted Peter on the shoulder. "Proud of you, bro."

"What? No, no! Not Liz!" Peter's face was entirely red. "N-Not...Liz."

"Oh? Then who?"

"You know who!"

"Clearly I don't if I'm asking you who this girl is, Peter."

Peter groaned and took a deep breath. "Y-You know...Ellie?"

"Ellie? Like, our Ellie? New girl Ellie? Ellie who knocked Clyde in with her head? Ellie with the white hair who keeps saying that it's naturally that color? Ellie who can't say no to save her own life?  _That_  Ellie?"

"Yes, Ned! What other Ellie is there?"

Ned sat back in his chair and gave out a low whine, holding both of his hands to his face. "Oh my god, I can't believe I lost the bet!

"Bet?"

"Yeah. Me and Holly made a bet on which one of you would make the first move." Ned pouted. "I said Ellie would and she said you would."

"I can't...I can't believe you would...you put a  _bet_  on me and Ellie?!"

"In my defense, it was all Holly's idea!" Ned starts looking through his pockets. "Man, I don't have 20 on me...okay, just don't ask her yet! That way, Holly will never know!"

Peter leaned back in his chair, twirling his pencil in his hand. He sighed deeply. "No worries. I'm probably not gonna ask anyway."

Ned sucked his teeth. "Oh, this'll be good."

"What?"

"Please don't say that she's not into you. Because, if you do, I will honestly have to smack you."

Peter flicked his pencil towards his best friend, who quickly dodged the projectile that went through the open window behind him. Ned looked at Peter with a raised brow and the shaggy haired boy held his hands up in defense. "In fairness, it wasn't suppose to hit you."

"Uh huh. You know, a month and a half ago, we were wondering how amazingly hot Liz Allen is in all those different outfits that she can pull off without fail."

"I mean, she's still cute!"

"...I feel a 'But' coming on."

Peter sighed. "Look, Ned, it's different! Liz was someone I like, sure, but Ellie...I don't know." He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "She just really makes me feel really good, you know? Like, the way her smile just brightens a room anywhere she goes. The way she blows her hair out of her face. She does this thing when she gets excited that's just too cute, and she's just...light. Like pure light, man."

"...Oh my god." Ned's eyes widened. "You really do like her."

"I know, right?!" Peter moaned. "It's driving me crazy. We hang out all the time, and the last time? She joked and said it was like we were dating or something!"

Ned whistled. "Ouch."

"I wanted to ask her right then and there, but I...froze. I froze like an idiot and just laughed right along with her."

"So, you've just proven something that I've known forever. You suck when it comes to talking to girls."

Peter blinked. "Just kill me now."

"Look, Pete, if she likes you she'll let you know! We're in the 21st century. Girls give guys signs that we fail to notice a lot. And, FYI, I am  _very_  certain that she is into you."

"How?"

"'Cause Holly told me." Ned covered his mouth. " _Shit_!"

The brown haired boy quickly leaned in, his defeated gaze turning into growing excitement. "Wait, so like she told you? What'd she tell you?"

"If Holly finds out I told you, she'll kill me..."

"Ned, come on!"

"Okay, okay!" Ned huffed. "All she told me was that Ellie just does this thing when you get mentioned in a conversation. Like the Ellie name drop thing that you do." Peter raised a brow. "It's that thing you do when Ellie gets brought up in a conversation. She does the same thing with you."

"I-I...do not...I do  _not_  do that!"

"You just admitted that you froze when she joked around with you. As far as I'm concerned, that's proof in the pudding."

"Wh-What? That is not...I don't even know what that...it's just...Whatever! Did Holly say that Ellie liked me?"

"I don't know. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Who am I to say?"

"My best friend who is a terrible liar when it comes to anything and everything secret. Now, did she say Ellie liked me or not!"

Ned tightened his mouth. "Don't know, man."

"Ned!"

"Dude, come on! Don't look at me!" Peter looked expectantly, and Ned finally cracked. "Okay, yes! She did! She did say that Ellie liked you! Ugh, you know I suck at lying."

Peter did a little jump and shot his hands up in the air. "Yes!"

Michelle popped her head into the room, frowning. "You're a dork." And left just as quick as she said it.

Peter slowly put his hands down, while Ned held his head in his hands.

"Holly is going to kill me. Just  _don't_  ask her first, man! Please, I am begging you! I'll even let you help me make the Death Star Logo set!"

"I should just so I can see the look on your face when Holly wins."

Ned frowned. "...You are the worst best friend ever."

"I'll help you do the Death Star?"

"...Make it the Death Star and the Lonely Mountain."

* * *

Ellie was turning a corner as the final bell for the end of school rang when she bumped into Peter. The papers that they were both holding spiraled to the floor, but they were more preoccupied with each other.

"Peter!"

"Ellie!"

The two both chuckle nervously, one feet moving anxiously below her while the other rubs his hands behind his neck. It takes a moment before they realize all of their things were on the floor. They both say the same thing.

"Let me help you!"

They both blinked, and then started laughing helplessly while kneeling down and grabbing the numerous papers. Ellie and Peter looked at one another when the other wasn't, wondering if now was the right time to ask. Ellie was still pretty hesitant. But Peter figured it was now or never. He figured, either way, they would still be friends right?

"Hey, Ellie...I, uh, needed to ask you something."

Ellie tucked a strand of hair behind her hair, making Peter lose his train of thought. "Oh, yeah! You know, I was just about to say the same thing."

"R-Really? Yeah! How crazy, right? Hahahahaha!"

Ellie giggled. "Should, should we go at the same time?"

They both rose from the ground and smiled at each other, gripping their papers tight. "So, on three?" Peter asked. Ellie nodded. Both took a deep breath, but before they could get so much as a word out-

"Ellie Belly!"

Ellie's face quickly turned into a grimace. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Flash Thompson, in all of his pride and glory, quickly came on the scene and handed Ellie a textbook. "You left this textbook in Biology, babe."

She took the book with a polite smile. "Thanks, Flash! I must've been in a hurry to get out of there."

"Don't know why. I thought you liked it, since you're one of the smartest girls in there."

"What? Nah, that's...that's maybe true?"

Peter frowned at Ellie's nervous giggle, watching her clutch her things to her chest. He also could've sworn he heard a harsh whisper around the corner, telling Flash to beat it. Weird.

Holly and Ned, listening nearby, both expressed a range of emotion after Flash interrupted the two. "Damn it, Flash!" Holly hissed quietly. "Beat it! I've got a bet to win!"

"Umm,  _I_  have a bet to win actually."

"You'll win when it snows in October, Leeds!"

Flash, however, didn't hear Ned and Holly's commentary. He merely stepped up a little closer to Ellie, while she hestitantly took a step back. "So, Ellie, I was wondering if you were doing anything this weekend? You know, this new movie called The Experiment is at the movies and, well..." He smirked down at her. "I figured I'd ask you before anyone else had the chance."

Goddamn it.

Ellie looked back and forth from Flash to Peter, trying to figure out how she could get out of this sticky situation. "W-Well...uh..."

"Come on, Ells!" Holly sighed quietly, her head peaking around with Ned's. "You can do it! You can say no!"

Ned shook his head. "Her niceness is too powerful. She can't do it."

"I have been training her for the past month for this  _very_  moment! She can do it!"

Ellie repeatedly opened and closed her mouth. "I-I mean...a-actually...you see...maybe?"

Holly whined. "Oh no, Ells!"

'Oh god', Ellie thought. 'I can't do it! I can't say no! Crap!' Maybe she'd just give him an excuse? Tell him that she's way too busy again? Would he buy it? Probably not. 'Holly, I told you this was hard!'

Ellie sighed, and looked up at Flash, defeated. "Actually, Flash, I'm-"

"She's going with me!"

Flash turned to Peter. "What?"

"What?!"

Ellie stared at him, shocked. Holly, however, was quickly cheering down the hall while Ned slapped a hand to his forehead. "You've got to be Moby Dick-ing me," Ned grumbled.

"I WON! YEAH-HAHA! LEE IS THE WINNER! OH YEAH, OH YEAH!"

The three in the middle of the hall barely paid Holly any mind as they were trying to figure out if what Peter was saying was true. "Parker asked you to the movies this weekend?" Flash scoffed at Ellie. "We talkin' about the same Parker here? He can barely ask a question in Geometry without stuttering."

"M-Me and Ellie _are_ going to see The Experiment on Saturday!" Peter exclaimed. He mentally wanted to die right then and there. Why was he still speaking? Why wasn't he stopping?

Flash looked back to Ellie. "This true?"

"Wha?" Ellie was still in disbelief before she finally came back to herself and nodded. "Oh...oh yeah! Yep! We are definitely going to see it together! Just the two of us! Yep, totally!" Ellie moved so she was next to Peter, looking up at him with a smile.

Flash looked at the two for a moment, not taking his eyes off of Peter for one second. Then, he snorted. "Parker." With that, he bumped into Peter and took off down the hall, obviously upset.

Ellie finally let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Oh, thank goodness. Ugh! I can't believe I couldn't say no again! Holly's going to kill me."

Peter stuffed his papers in his bag. "Ellie-"

"I mean, it's not like I didn't try to say no! The maybe just slipped out! The no was coming next, for sure."

"I get that, Ell, but-"

"And that was awesome! You literally saved me back there, Peter. With that whole taking me to the movies thing? Ha! Amazing. What would I do without you?"

"Ells..."

"I mean, what a great excuse! Oh man, wait. Flash might tell everyone about this. Okay, I'll talk to Holly. She always has a way to make this work. I don't want everyone thinking that you actually wanted to ask me out-"

"Eileen!"

"What?" Ellie pouted.

Peter looked down at her and sighed. "It, um, wasn't entirely an excuse. I really did want to ask you out. On a date. With me."

Ellie stared up at him, not fully realizing it. "Wait, so you...you want to...you really want to go to the movies with me? On a date? Seriously?" Peter nodded, and Ellie gave a shaky sigh. "Excuse me for a moment. Like, can you...turn around?" He was a little confused, but did so. Ellie immediately squealed in silence, spinning around in a circle and jumping up and down. Composing herself, she tapped Peter on the shoulder and he turned back around with a smile.

"You did that thing you do when you're happy, didn't you?"

Ellie grinned. "What thing? I don't know what thing you're talking about."

"You spin around in a circle and jump up and down."

"How do you know, you were the opposite direction!"

"I have ears, silly!"

"You know nothing, Peter Parker." Ellie smirked.

Peter smirked back mockingly. "I know everything, Ellie Duncan."

They both grinned at each other, happy at the outcome of the whole thing. This was really happening, they were really doing this.

"So..."

"So..."

A warm smile arose on Ellie's face. She took Peter's hand and leaned in, her confidence built up for this one moment. She was so close to his face that it made him turn completely red. Instead of going for his lips, she darted hers over to his ear. "Pick me up at 7. Don't be late, 'kay?"

The very tease of the whisper made his toes curl. "K...Kay."

Ellie pulled her own flushed face away, slipping her palm out of Peter's and jogging off to catch up to Holly. Peter was stunned in place, holding his ear that was still warm from Ellie's breath. Ned stood next to him, shaking his head.

"Dude, I can't believe you said it first!"

* * *

"I can't believe we're actually going on a date!"

" _And I can't believe I'm 20 dollars richer_!"

Ellie laughed, walking up the second flight of stairs to her apartment. "You know, do you actually need 20 dollars? I mean, you live in that big ol' mansion-"

" _Not a mansion, for the last time! My parents are the 'Pull from your own bootstraps' type of parents. I don't even get an allowance!_ "

"Is that good or bad?"

" _Depends. Some days I like working, other days...bleh._ "

She finally reached her floor, struggling to pull out her keys while her phone was clutched by her other hand. "I mean, at least you have a job. I just ask my brother to loan me 30 bucks most weekends when I got out. I make due."

" _With just 30 bucks? Girl, what do you eat?_ "

"Granola bars. Lots and lots of granola bars." She could hear Holly's sigh on the other line. "No one eats granola bars on the first date?"

" _Not really. Look, just remember what I told you. Since this is a dinner-movie date, let him pay for everything. It's basically first date law!_ "

"Yeah, but I'd feel bad! Why can't we just split the bill?"

" _One: because movies and dinner is too damn expensive even for two people. Two: That's what married couples do._ "

"We're not married!"

" _Exactly! So let him pay for everything so you don't have to worry about it!_ "

Ellie pulled out the keys from her purse and turned the key in. "Holls, I'm just feeling so...so..."

" _Excited?_ "

"Yeah! Like I can literally take on the world and not give a shit!"

" _I think that's what they call the honeymoon stage of a relationship, hun. Just remember, no means no. Which means no playing nice, Ms. I-Can't-Say-No!_ "

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna be more assertive, I promise! And why do you keep talking about marriage and honeymoons? It's just a first date!" Ellie grinned, not mad at all. It felt great, it felt good. Almost better than when she first donned her White Eagle costume. Almost. She had friends, she was going to be in an actual school club, and she may or may not have a boyfriend soon! All while being White Eagle and living both lives! This had to have been the best day of her life.

She opened the door and walked into the apartment, only to freeze in her tracks. Ellie dropped her phone, Holly's numerous hellos tuning out as the world seemed to start crushing in around her.

There her brother was, standing in the middle of the living room, looking so hurt it made her heart ache. And the clothing in his hands...was her White Eagle suit. She took it all back. This was  _not_  the best day of her life.

"Ellie, what the hell is this?"

This was the worst day of her life.

"Tanner, I can explain-"

Her brother began to laugh harshly, making her flinch. "Explain?" He asked, throwing her costume at her. " _Explain_?! Yes,  _Eileen_ , please explain to me why this costume was in your room this morning! Oh, and while you're at it-"

Tanner grabbed a newspaper from the table and waved it next to him. There she - White Eagle - was, flying on the front page with the header 'New York's Newest Vigilante - A New Avenger? Or Spider-Man's Sidekick?'

"Why don't you try explaining why this very same suit is on the front fucking page of the New York Times?!"

She forgot about newspapers. "You know...I am definitely not a sidekick." Ellie sputtered, folding her arms.

Tanner threw the paper across the room and gritted his teeth, rubbing his hands into his face. "We talked about this, Ellie! How many times have we talked about this?! You promised me that you wouldn't do this! That _we_ wouldn't do this!"

"I-I know!"

"So why. huh? Why risk it?! Why would you do this after I deliberately told you not to?!"

Ellie shrugged, defeated. "Because-"

"Because what?!"

"Because I've tried!" Ellie shouted. "Okay?! I've tried! I've tried being the normal girl at high school! I've tried having normal friends who I hang out with! I've tried liking a normal guy and maybe even going on a first date with him!"

"But, you know what? It's not enough! I mean, I wished it was. I wanted it to be enough. But...I look at Spider-Man saving people on the street, I see Captain America throwing his shield at bad guys, I watch Iron Man flying through the skies and catching people from thin air. Knowing that I could be doing what they're doing! Using my powers to help and save people! Feeling free! And I was sick and tired of hiding who I am! I'm not normal, Tanner! I can grow wings out of my back and my irises are yellow, I grow talons in my hands and feet! I can see from miles away without even so much as blinking! That's  _not_  normal!"

She threw her hands up, wiping a tear from her eye with a laugh. "But I tried, you know? I tried to juggle it all. Being normal, being White Eagle for these past few weeks. And it worked! It  _has_  worked, Tanner."

"...Until now." Tanner sighed. "Wow. You know what? That's it. This is it, Eileen. No more lies. No more selfishness. You've got a choice, it's either this or school."

"What?!"

"You want to be White Eagle, fine! You can be White Eagle. Risk your life everyday for all I care! Hell, I'll _help_ you to make it easier! But I'll pull you right out of school. No more teachers, no more friends. No Holly, Ned, or Peter."

"That's not fair!"

"You want fair?  _Fair_  is listening to your older brother when he tells you not to do something.  _Fair_  is honoring a promise you made to him and not doing something that could risk us both being found.  _Fair_  is not even giving you a choice, burning that costume, and pulling you out of school and moving again!"

"You can't do that!"

"Sure I can. I'm your older brother, and that's life, kiddo. You go behind someone's back, you get consequences."

Ellie shook her head. "This is such bullshit!"

"Don't swear at me!"

"Why not? I'm the liar, right?!" She was heated now. "You've been lying to me all of these years about what happened before I was ten years old! But I'm the fucking liar?!"

"Don't push me, Ellie."

"You know what? Fuck you, Tanner! I'm tired of stepping around you about this. Who are we running from, huh? Since we're all about telling the truth now!"

"Ellie, I swear to-"

"Oh, but I have to give everything up, huh? Just because I wanted to spread my wings a little? The only good things that I actually have going on in my life and you always try to ruin everything because of this  _stupid_  paranoia of yours! So I'm ending this crap right now! Tell me the truth!"

"Eileen, don't fucking-!"

"Why do we move all the time? Why can't I use my powers?! What are you so afraid of?! ANSWER ME!"

"ENOUGH!" Tanner roared, his eyes flashing black and his teeth turning sharp. Ellie jumped back with a flinch. "What I say and do, I do to protect _both_ of us! You don't understand because you're a child who thinks this is all just a game that you'll win! You can't and you won't! You're not like Spider-Man or any of those other assholes! You're _different_ , Eileen! And I am not going to let WestCorp come back and take you from me!"

"...WestCorp?"

Tanner breathed in deeply, stomping in front of Ellie to get her costume. She quickly grabbed it up, holding it to her chest. "Give it to me, Ellie."

"What is WestCorp?"

"Give me the suit and we can talk about this another day."

"No! I'm not waiting anymore. I've waited long enough! You tell me what the hell is WestCorp, Tanner! What does it have to do with me?"

"Ellie!"

"Tell me the truth!"

A hesitant knock at the door made the two siblings pause. Tanner narrowed his eyes at the door, while Ellie turned towards it. "Is everything all right in there?" A muffled voice called out. But Ellie could pick it out through the wood.

"Everything's fine, Mr. Wilkins," Ellie replied, glaring back at her brother. "Sorry to bother you."

"It's fine, sweetie. Actually, there's some people here who wanted to speak to you? They came to my door accidentally."

Ellie and Tanner both turned towards each other, hesitant to open the door. "Who are they?" Tanner asked.

"Some old friends," An unfamiliar voice said. It was deep, and sounded tired. Tanner tensed up, his claws quickly coming out. He began walking to the door, but Ellie stopped him.

"It's not them."

"How do you know?"

"I just...have a feeling."

Tanner guffawed. "You expect me to trust your feeling?!"

"Will you just trust me for just once? I know what I'm doing! Semi-professional vigilante here."

Tanner stared down at her for the longest time before his claws retracted, stepping back to let Ellie open the door. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob and turned it. And, sure enough, there was a confused Mr. Wilkins standing there with two other men. One was a tall black man wearing all black who smiled down at her with one eye, the other covered up with an eye patch. The other was a white man a couple of inches shorter, wearing a baseball cap that initially covered his face. Looking up, Ellie could recognize him even through the thick lumberjack beard.

He was Captain flipping America.

"I hope we're not interrupting. But we need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> filler chapter, filler chapter, everyone loves the filler chapter! next time!


	9. The Boy Needs a Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woohoo! new chapter!!!
> 
> add. notes at the end for some translations~

Peter found himself staring off into space in front of the living room TV not too long after school was let out and he was done with his afternoon patrol. He could barely focus on much during that time, even when he was out in his red and blue tights. That always got him excited, sure, just like it always did. But the reason for his anxious excitement today was from a different event earlier in the day.

He let his hand reached up and rub at his ear, that still seemed to burn from Ellie's cool breath on his skin. Ned had told Peter that she may have felt the same about him, but he still couldn't believe that she said yes to going on a date with him! Peter Parker, of all people! In terms of long term dating quality, he sort of ranked himself far at the bottom.

Maybe if she ever knew that he was Spider-Man, then he'd have a shot at dating her.

As quick as he thought that, he called himself an idiot. Of course that isn't what he wanted! He wanted Ellie to like him for him, and she had to feel that way if she said yes, right?

...Right?

"Man," Peter groaned into his palms. Maybe it was just all in his head. First 'first date' jitters and all of that...or maybe he should call her and cancel before he just ruins the friendship that they have together.

"You okay, hun?"

Peter whipped his head to look up at his amused aunt, readjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose with her right oven mittened hand. "Uh...yeah, May. I'm good."

"Really? 'Cause your foot is running a mile a minute."

Peter looked down at his bouncing leg and quickly stopped it. "Betrayed by my own body," He grumbled.

May quickly took a seat next to him, sliding her arm over his shoulder. "Peter, come on. You've been like this all night! You've barely listened to a word I've said, and you're sitting here staring off into space." Watching him fold his arms, May raised a brow. "Did something happen at school today?"

"No! Nothing big happened."

"Well, give me a play by play of the day then!" May smiled. "Something had to have happened to have you so tense."

Peter sighed and slipped further into the couch. "May-"

"Was it that Spanish test you took today?You studied so hard in your room, you probably aced it!"

"No, no. Not a test."

May pondered for a moment. "Marching band kids gave you a hard time for leaving?"

"No!" He said this with no hesitation. "You know I have the Stark internship. I had to-"

"Ooooooooh, so it has to do with Stark, huh?" May frowned.

Peter quickly shook his head, a nervous laugh leaving his lips. It wasn't a surprise that his aunt did not like Tony Stark. She always told Peter that something about him just rubbed her the wrong way...that, and he made one to many comments about her appearance the last time he spoke to her. "Definitely nothing to do with that, May. Everything's good!"

"Then what it is?"

"May." Peter pleaded with his eyes, but his aunt was not letting him off that easy.

"Peter, c'mon! Just tell me. I'm sure it's not that bad-"

"IaskedEllieoutonadate!"

May's eyes widened. "You did what?!"

Peter stood up, beginning to pace across the small living room. "I asked Ellie out on a date on Saturday, and I don't know what to do because I've never asked a girl out on a date before and I want her to really like me and like going on dates with me because I don't want to ruin our friendship but I really like her and want to be more than friends and I don't want to look like a complete loser who doesn't know how to date so-"

"Okay, okay!" Peter's aunt quickly stepped in front of him with a chuckle. "Slow down, Speed Racer. I get it. You asked her out and now you're worried if she's going to like where you're going."

Peter's tensed shoulders slumped down. "Yeah, that's...it."

May sighed through her nose, taking off her mittens and placing them on the small table next to her. "Peter, honey, this is your first date with a girl! It's normal to feel a little nervous about it."

"I know! But it's not like...this  _feels_  more important. I mean, Ellie is-"

"A very sweet girl who's going to have fun no matter where you two go!" She quickly cut him off, rubbing her hands over his arms. "And you are a great guy who's going to have just as much fun as she is." May ruffling his hair with a smile. "It'll just be like all the other times you two go someplace together. Nothing's changed."

Peter raised a brow.

"Well, okay, only this time it'll be romantic! Just be yourself, Peter. It's gotten you this far, right?"

"Yeah...yeah." It took a few moments for Peter to really consider her words, and he smiled, pulling his aunt into a hug. "Thanks, May. I needed to hear that."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for!" May grinned. She pulled away from Peter, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before heading back to the kitchen. Peter then released a relieved breath of air and sat down on the couch, flipping through the channels with a wide smile on his face.

That is until his aunt popped her head into the archway separating the small apartment living room and kitchen.

"Just make sure that you have both of your butts at home by ten!"

The teen boy threw his hands up in the air. "Seriously?!" He hissed to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, May!"

Peter's other hand became preoccupied with toying with his phone after a few minutes. He bit at his bottom lip, contemplating another idea to ensure that he gives Ellie the best first date that he could do. Thinking long and hard, he finally opened up his home screen and typed in a number. The ringing tone made him anxious once again. Peter knew it was a long shot that he'd answer, but maybe his lucky streak was still going strong.

A click on the phone and a long, tired sigh graced the teen's ears. " _What_?"

"Happy!" Peter jumped up from the couch and quickly moved to the staircase, trying to keep his conversation private. "Oh, man, I am so glad you answered! What's up? Uh, how you doing? You need anything-"

" _Look, kid, what is it? I've got a lot of stuff that I need to do tonight and none of them involve talking to you_."

Happy was still the same, as always.

"Oh yeah, yeah! I get it. You're busy, Mr. Stark's busy. Busy with...industry stuff, Avenger stuff. I-I know you guys said you'd call me but...uh..."

" _You're wearin' me thin here, kid. Is this an emergency?_ "

"Yes! Well...I mean, it depends-"

" _Depends_?" The teen boy winced at the radiating irritation on the other line. " _It either is or isn't_."

"It is, Happy! Big emergency! It's, uh, well...I need a favor, that's all."

" _A favor_?"

"Yeah, just a small favor! Okay, look, so there's this girl-"

" _A GIRL_?"

Peter quickly moved his ear away from the phone to avoid hurting his eardrum. "Happy, wait a sec! Just let me explain to Mr. Stark-"

" _You're calling me to ask Tony to help you to impress a teenage girl? Why, you_ -!"

Before Happy could tear Peter a new one, another voice entered into the fray. One that the web crawling teenager instantly recognized. " _Is that the kid_?"

" _Well, yeah, boss. But he's asking me to_ -"

" _Is it about the job thing_?"

" _Surprisingly no, but_ -!"

" _Then put him on the FaceTime thing! Sheesh, come on, I've got a flight to catch_."

Another long sigh from Happy and a click switched the phone from voice call to face, and Peter found himself staring at Tony Stark, who appeared to be standing in an office of some sort. " _Peter_!" Tony smirked. " _Long time no chat, kiddo. How's it going_?"

"M-Mr. Stark! Hey, uh, nice to see yo-"

" _Uh huh. I know, nice to see you. You miss me_ , _I don't miss you. How are things going_?"

Before Peter could talk, Tony answered for him. " _Things are great, Mr. Stark! Come on_. _Let's just speed through that small talk_. _Now_ , _what's this about a favor_ _? Happy looked like he was going to implode right here in the middle of my office, and that's not fun unless I'm making him do it_."

"Oh, uh," Peter scratched his cheek nervously. "I mean, it's nothing really that important. I just wanted to get some...um, recommendations?"

Tony raised a brow. " _Like school recommendations_?"

"No! No, not school."

" _This isn't about those 'jobs', is it_? ' _Cause I'm kind of sure I remember telling you to wait for that call_."

"No! Uh," Peter's nervous smile fell for a moment before he picked it right back up. "Not about the jobs, no. Just sticking to the neighborhood like you told me."

" _Good job! You see, it's not so bad right? No need to go doing any global daring do and all of that_. Leave that to the big kids."

Peter rubbed a hand over his head in frustration. "Yeah, Mr. Stark, I get it. But that's not what I was calling about! Ya see...there's this girl and it's our first...you know-"

" _Aaaaaah_! _Your first date_!" Tony's mouth quickly formed into a sleazy grin - one that Peter had to raise a brow at. " _Well, I'll be damned_. _Peter Parker_ , _secret nerd boy wonder_ , _having the time to ask a girl on a date_! _Well, tell me all about her. What's her name? She nice? How'd you ask her? You know what, don't tell me. It ruins the_   _mystery_." The billionaire snapped his fingers suddenly. " _Hey!_ _You know what? I just got a bright idea_!"

"Y-Yeah?"

" _I'll save you and the girl a reservation at this restaurant down in Manhattan. Fancy place, serves an all-you-can-eat French buffet in style, candlelit dinners. Champagne. The whole package...wait, you're not of age. Scratch the champagne part and just put lemonade or orange juice in there._ "

"What?!" Peter exclaimed loudly in surprise.

"Peter, something wrong?" May called out

"N-No, it's fine, May! Everything's fine!" Peter quickly whipped his head back to his phone screen as he charged up the stairs. "A-Are you serious?!"

" _Yeah_!  _Why not_?  _Think of it as a gift for the internship_ ," Stark put air quotes around the last word before reaching for something off screen. He threw it up in the air and then pulled an apple into Peter's view, taking a bite out of it. " _I mean_ ,  _who am I to get in the way of young, puppy love_?  _Anyways I'll set up a reservation for this Saturday_ ,  _8PM sharp_  -  _don't be late though_.  _Alphonse gets nasty when you do that_.  _Anything else_?"

Peter goes to speak, but Tony cuts him off. " _Nah_ ,  _nothing else_.  _Okay_ ,  _got to jet_.  _And remember_!  _We_ ' _ll_   _call you_ ,  _not the other way around_.  _Alright_?  _Toodles_!"

"But, Mr. Stark, what about the-!"

And with a quick wink and his signature smug smirk, Tony Stark had ended the call. Peter pouted. "...missions? Dang it."

"Peter! Meatballs are ready!"

"Okay."

Peter stuffed his phone back into his pocket, taking in a deep breath before heading back downstairs to enjoy May's dinner. He might not have gotten everything he wanted, but now he could give Ellie the date she deserved!

And that was all that mattered.

* * *

 _Elsewhere_...

* * *

The 13th precinct of Manhattan's police department was surprisingly quiet on this particular night. The distant sounds of the city could barely be heard as the graveyard shift officers on duty made their runs and positions. But, even through the quiet, a police officer was still within the station while the rest of his co-workers were off in the streets seeking action.

Aaron Phelps was one of the only two officers currently in the building, stuck with paperwork and answering phone calls when he would rather be out on patrol. Desk shift at night was, without a doubt, the worst shift you could've possibly have gotten. Unless you were really into sitting around and babysitting grown men and women in the holding cells.

The T.V. in front of his desk almost made up for the less than productive atmosphere.

Almost.

His thumb on the remote finally slipped to the Channel 4 Nightly News, where Bob Bartley - clad in his regular grey suit and red tie - began to report the news. "... _and that was a wonderful fruitcake, Samantha. We'll be looking forward to seeing you next month on Baking Corner_." Bob quickly switched to the next bit of news, wiping his mouth with a white handkerchief. " _We're sorry to cut it short, but it would seem that we have some breaking news out there in the city of New York_."

Jan Ackers, his co-host, quickly added in the details. " _Just mere hours ago, a Russian mob member by the name of Aleksei Sytsevich was apprehended by the wall-crawling vigilante known as Spider-Man and taken to jail by the Manhattan police department. Apparently, he and a few known associates of his were attempting to smuggle an assortment of drugs and young women from the Hudson River._ "

"Yeah," Aaron Phelps, one of the two remaining officers in the building scoffed. He takes a pale hand and dives it into his Tim Horton's bag, pulling out another toasted donut and consuming it bitterly. "And I have to stay up all night watching him."

"Aw, come on Phelps!" Simone Wilkes, Aaron's partner grinned with a pat to Phelps's shoulder. "You need to stop whining. The more you whine, the less time I can focus on beating my high score in Solitaire."

Phelps could describe his rookie partner with one word: lazy. If there was anyone who was happy with their assignment tonight, it was her. Getting paid to sit around and do nothing was how she liked to do things. He couldn't understand why the captain paired them up together.

"Besides, I don't see what the big deal is," Wilkes shrugged her shoulders. "What's so scary about this guy anyway?"

"What's so- Are you serious?! It's Aleksei fucking Sytsevich!" Phelps hissed quietly. It was obvious he didn't want the criminal to hear him. "Son of the Russian mob's leader? In the force and in the underworld, he's known as the Rhino."

Wilkes blinked. "Why the fuck would they call him the Rhino?"

"'Cause he's as strong as one! Someone even said he crushed a guy's skull with his bare hands." Simone began to laugh uncontrollably, prompting Phelps to place his fingers to his lips. "Jesus, Wilkes, not so loud!"

"That...has to be...the dumbest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth!" Wilkes wheezed. "Get real, my guy! Only way he could'a did that is if he curb stomped him!"

"Simone!"

"Oh no, the Rhino's gonna break my whittle head!" Wilkes mocked Phelps. "I'm so scared! Mama! Hahahahahaa! Phelps. Hun. That man in there ain't nothing but shit! He knows it, and I know it!"

"How the hell can you even say that when we've got-" Phelps cut himself off, peering over Wilkes to glance at the cell towards the end of the hall. "When we've got that damn maniac in here?!" He finished with a hiss.

"First of all, the man ain't a maniac," Wilkes interjected. "He's Russian. And, second, he's in a jail cell! In extra large cuffs! He's as much of a risk as my left pit!"

"Then we're all doomed, it would seem."

Phelps quickly ducked from Wilkes's hand flying at the back of his head. "Oi!" Phelps cackled. "You walked right into that one! How is that my fault?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Wilkes shot up from her seat and snatching the bag of donuts from Phelps's hands. "Go fuck yourself, Phelps."

Before Simone could make a dive into the break room, however, the phone began to ring not to far away from where the cop duo were seated. They both looked at each, and rolled their eyes simultaneously. After she placed the donuts down, Wilkes lifted up her hands with Phelps. In a fast round of rock-paper-scissors, Aaron got scissors. Simone got paper.

Two out of three? Phelps's rock to Wilkes's scissors.

Wilkes glared down at Aaron's smug face. "I hate you."

"The feeling's mutual. Now, answer the damn phone, please."

Wilkes flipped her middle finger as she crossed over to the cordless phone on the wall. She swiped it off and answered in her ungenuine customer service tone. "Hello? Manhattan Police, 13th Precinct. This is Officer Wilkes, how may I assist you?"

Phelps watched Wilkes listen to the answer on the other end of the phone, and raised a brow when she noticed her smile fade from her face. "Wilkes? What is it?"

Wilkes pulled the phone away from her ear and covered the speaker, whispering to Phelps, "It's the big guy's lawyer. They want to speak with him about the transfer tomorrow."

"Ah, shit." Phelps sighed, leaning on the back of his rolling chair. "Well, I'm sure as hell not giving him the phone!"

"The hell you ain't! You're the senior officer in charge here!"

"And as the senior officer, I ain't fucking doing it! You answered the phone, so it's your job!"

Simone looked from Aaron to Aleksei's cell, and a devilish grin on her face. "Oh, you definitely givin' him the phone."

"Wilkes, I swear to-"

"Hey, Sytsevich!"

A clatter of chains could be heard through the entire precinct. At the far corner of the station, there was a tall, brick house of a man with brown hair and bright, blue eyes glaring at the officers through the bars. Tattoos adorned the exposed parts of his body up to his neck, along with many scars here and there. "что?"

Wilkes sighed. "In English, numbnuts."

"What the hell do you want?" Aleksei responded, his low voice laced with a rough accent and irritation.

"You got a phone call."

The prisoner raised a brow. "Who is it?"

"Uh, your-your lawyer?" Phelps said, beating Wilkes to the punch.

A moment of pause, and the large man's hand slowly reached out from the bars for the mobile. Phelps took a deep breath, and slowly stood up. He snatched the phone from Wilkes's hand, glaring down at her smug face before moving towards the mob boss's cell. The black phone in his hand make a small little crack sound with how hard he was holding it. By the time he reached the front of the cell, Aaron was certain he forgot how to breathe.

"H-Here."

Sytsevich couldn't help but smirk as the little man in front of him handed him the phone, shaking all over. Even in a jail cell, he was infamous to those who knew about his dealings. Aleksei waited until Phelps quickly escaped from the cell's proximity and placed the phone to his ear.

"Yusov? Это ты?"

" _I'm afraid I am not, Mr. Sytsevich_." An unfamiliar, dark voice responded. " _But you're immediate release from police custody is something that you and I both want_."

Aleksei felt his jaw clench. "Кто ты? You know who I am?"

" _Indeed I do, Aleksei_.  _I know exactly who you are_.  _I know that you and half of your Russian syndicate are currently awaiting transport to a maximum security prison for your trial in the next coming week. I also know that the rest of your so-called brotherhood have all but scattered in the wind, leaving you to your fate_.  _Such is the life of a mobster_ ,  _wouldn't you say_?"

"Ложь! Не правда! I am too-!"

" _Important_?  _Really_?  _If that is so_ ,  _Aleksei_ ,  _why is it that I'm the only one who has called the station for you_?"

Aleksei's nails dug into the skin of his free palm. This man was right - this was not the Russian's first rodeo with the law. By now, one of his father's lawyers would have arrived and gave the officers involved such a crucifying, they'd let him go home and he would pass the trial like it was nothing. Only this time, no one came. No lawyers, no friends. His father didn't even seem to care much anymore.

But they couldn't have abandoned him. Not his Братва. They couldn't...

" _Mr. Sytsevich_?  _Are you still there_?"

Aleksei's voice came back to him, but strained. "What do you want?"

" _As I've told you before_ ,  _Aleksei_ ,  _your release is what I want_."

"Don't play me the fool. I know you want more than that."

The voice on the other end chuckled. " _How right you are. Yes. There is indeed something else that I need from you, in exchange for your freedom._ "

" _You are a man of many talents, Mr. Sytsevich. Or should I say...Rhino. A stellar military background, Special Ops, an expert hand combatant. And yet, all of that potential wasted when you returned home. Your father isn't the man that he used to be, Aleksei. He's grown too soft. You know this very well. He thinks jail time will humble your young mind. I, however, believe that with great strength comes true evolution._ "

" _And so_ ,  _Aleksei_ ,  _I offer you two choices_ :  _Freedom and vengeance to those who have wronged you_ ,  _or imprisonment and 25 years of atonement for your sins_?"

Aleksei glared down at the floor. "...Why bother. You know which option I choose."

" _Hmm_.  _That I do_.  _I just wanted to hear you say it before what comes next_."

Aleksei was confused. "Comes next? What do you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion rocked the entire police precinct.

The smell of fire and smoke entered Aleksei's nose so fast, he couldn't help but cough and choke. Small stones and debris hit his rough, pale skin, but he was sure that the origin of the blast was more so near the cops outside of his cell. As the ringing left his ears, his eyes looked up to see that the explosion was powerful enough to place a hole on the roof. Which explained where most of the rubble came from.

A low groan from the destroyed hall confirmed that at least one of the cops had survived, much to Aleksei's disappointment.

Another recoil came from behind Sytsevich, but the blast was not as powerful. No, this was merely to give him the opening he needed to step outside of his cell and onto the sidewalk. It still wasn't fun to have all of that dust covering his prison jumpsuit clothing.

Stepping out of the large hole in the brick wall, Aleksei squinted in front of him. Not too far away from where he stood, a long, black limo awaited him in the parking lot. Standing next to it was a tall, young woman. With silver, cat-like eyes and electric blue hair. She gave him a calm smile, stepping aside to open the door to the limo.

"Hello, Mr. Sytsevich. We've been expecting you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> что? - What?  
> Это ты? - Is that you?  
> Кто ты? - Who is this?  
> Ложь! Не правда! - Lie! Not true!  
> Братва - Brotherhood


	10. The Girl Meets the Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are ya ready for this?

Ellie pictured meeting an Avenger for the very first time.

Her third choice would have been Thor - the God of Thunder's reputation as the Strongest Avenger (in her eyes) made her intrigued to learn more about the world that he came from, how he made it possible for lightning to be controlled at his very fingertips, and how he looked so good doing all of it with that big ass red cape in the way. She'd probably melt just from being in the same room as him though, so that's why he's number three.

The close second would have been Falcon. Sam Wilson was an inspiration to her being one of the only black members on the Avengers, so he was a pretty big deal in her eyes. Loyal and clad with his own set of wings, she's always wanted to see which one of them would be faster in the skies. Her bet was on her own feathers, but she also wanted to find out how it was teaming up with THE Captain America.

Who just so happened to be her first choice.

And now, here he was - THE Captain America, sitting across her apartment drinking from a small mug of coffee. It was completely blowing her mind! This wasn't some weird dream or practical joke. He was present, with the guy who says that he was the one that brought "the whole Scooby gang together". Nick Fury, he called himself. Former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. The eyepatch that crossed his left eye was pretty intimidating, but watching him drink from a mug that said, 'Best Cocoa in the House' made it more amusing than anything.

Ellie was eating all of this up. Her brother, however, was less than impressed.

"I just wanna say it is such an honor to meet you both," Ellie grinned. "I mean, I-I never thought I'd meet actual Avengers! Let alone...well..." She suddenly felt bashful, gesturing to Cap in front of her.

"The honor's all mine," Steve Rogers smiled just as brightly. "Although I'm kind of shocked you could tell who I was."

Fury chuckled. "I'm not. Anyone could recognize you pass that bush on your face. You need a better disguise, Captain."

Steve's hand subconsciously went for his beard. "Don't call me that. Besides, no one else caught it. That's more important."

Oh. That's right.

Technically, Captain America (along with the Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and a few other Avengers) are now classified as war criminals around the world. All because of their stance against the Sokovia Accords - an act made up by the UN that puts restrictions on enhanced humans acting outside of the law internationally. Technically, Ellie herself was breaching them as White Eagle. Along with Spider-Man.

That realization gave her a sudden thrilling chill.

"Yo, can we cut to the chase?" Tanner's tone caused the other three's smiles to drop instantly. "'Cause I'm still tryna figure out how you two found yourselves here."

Ellie sent an irritated stare towards her brother. He ignored it.

"Right to the point," Nick nodded. "I respect that, Mr. Duncan."

Ellie felt herself tense up, swallowing hard while Tanner's fists tightened. "You...you know who we are?" Ellie almost choked on her words.

"How else would we have found you, kid?"

"Don't." Tanner's growl came through his grinding sharp teeth.

"Tanner!"

"It's fine," Steve tried to alleviate the situation. "Tanner. Ellie. Nick here has known about you guys for a while now. In fact, S.H.I.E.L.D. kept tabs on you both."

Ellie blinked. "And how long was that, exactly?"

Nick and Steve looked at each other, then back at the two siblings. "Since you first escaped WestCorp," Nick offered.

Tanner quickly stood up. "That's far enough. She doesn't need to hear this."

"Oh, this again?" Ellie scoffed.

"Ellie, not now!" Tanner whipped his head to Nick and Steve. "I'm sorry, but you two wasted your time coming here. You've got the wrong people. So, I'm only going to say this once - leave."

Ellie saw Steve's jaw tighten while Nick continued to calmly drink out of his mug. The room was deafening with tension, so much so that Ellie's voice breaking through came as a shock to everyone. Even herself.

"Then I'll go."

Tanner looked down at his sister. "What?"

"If you make them leave, I'm going with them Tanner." Before he could twist his scowl into words, Ellie held her hand up. "Can you just let them finish? Please? I'm not ten anymore, okay? I deserve to know the truth. There's no harm in it."

Tanner looked back and forth from his sister to the two people that threatened everything he tried to keep from her. He sighed deeply, looking back down at her with that look in his eyes. That same look that always made her stand down. "Ellie," His voice came out as a whisper. "Are you sure?"

But she wouldn't do it. Not this time.

"Yes. I am."

"…Fine. Then  _I'll_  tell you."

Tanner looked over at Steve and Nick, glaring at them while he explained the truth.

"We weren't born like this. That much you know. But, I never told you how we got 'em. Our powers. We were taken from an orphanage back in Orlando – couple of other kids too. Thought we were going to get a fresh start. Get a new life, find a good family, a better one anyway. We…we were wrong." Tanner sighed. He took a few moments before continuing.

"WestCorp stands for West Corporations, ran by this old schmuck named Malcolm Grey. Claimed that they were making great strides in science and technology, better than Stark Industries or any other. But, that wasn't all they were doing. They were…they took kids underground in some lab. Did experiments that were all across the board illegal. Spliced us together with animal DNA, tried enhancing our molecular constructs. They wanted to make us into soldiers, the key word being wanted. Most of us…didn't make it. The ones that did got out. Me and you – we're the only ones that got out, El. And we've been on the move ever since. That's all you need to know."

Steve raised a brow. "Are you sure-"

"That's all.  _She_  needs. To know."

The first Avenger slowly nodded, but his eyes were set on Ellie. She looked visibly upset, but she quickly made herself look indifferent when her brother's gaze fell on her.

"Okay…" Ellie shrugged. "I'm a walking, talking science experiment. Big whoop."

"Don't do that," Tanner said.

"What? I'm fine, it's fine."

"I know you're not. Don't lie."

"Would you stop babying me? I said I'm fine, alright!" Ellie huffed. "Ugh. So...that's really it?"

"It's all you need to know. Trust me."

The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. cleared his throat, placing his coffee mug on the table. "In any case, S.H.I.E.L.D. oversaw keeping you two off the radar these last five years. Last thing we wanted was for any surviving members of the corporation to catch on that you both were still alive."

"But, wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. taken down or something a few years back?" Ellie remembered the revealing press conference that opened files on both S.H.I.E.L.D. and an organization called HYDRA, which was full of neo-Nazi's hell bent on taking over the world. There had been a breach, and it looked like both were taken down in one fell swoop.

"It was. A while ago, officially. Unofficially, S.H.I.E.L.D has been working behind the scenes ever since," Steve explained.

"Your brother was damn good at covering your tracks without us for a bit," Nick chuckled, earning a raised brow from Tanner. "Bouncing y'all both from place to place. Different names, unmarked cars. Hell, if you hadn't enrolled at that high school, we probably wouldn't have managed to find you."

"Which leads us right back to what I asked," Tanner said. "Why. Are. You. Here?"

Steve stood up from the couch, moving around the furniture so that he would be closer to the Duncan siblings for what he was going to say. "There's been a lot of chatter going around about unknown threats outside of Earth. The Avengers are split up right now, but we need more help. More people that can give a hand in protecting the world. It's not gonna be easy, but if we prepare...we'll have a fighting chance."

"So, what?" Tanner snorted. "You're here to recruit my sister onto your team?"

Steve looked at Ellie and then back to Tanner, nodding. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

Ellie felt her jaw drop. "Seriously?! You want  _me_  to be an Avenger?"

"A Secret Avenger, kid." Nick smirked. "But yeah, same thing."

The teen girl started to pace quickly through the small living room, running her hands frantically throw her hair and silently screaming. "Oh my god, oh my god! This is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me! I'm gonna be an freaking Avenger! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my goooooooood!"

"Hell no! She's just a kid!" Tanner shouted.

"A kid that can sprout wings out of her back and helped clean up crime all throughout New York?" Nick raised a brow. "I'd say she fits the bill."

"This isn't official, Tanner." Steve said. "I wouldn't ask you to let her do anything that would put her into danger. But we need people like you and your sister. Now more than ever."

Tanner stepped up to Steve, the two similar in height as they stared each other down.

"You'd train her?"

"If she's willing to let me, yes."

"I'm willing!" Ellie popped in between the two. "I am definitely willing. Very willing. I am willed for it. Aren't I, Tan?" She looked up at Tanner, and quickly took the hint from his glare. "Okay. Just gonna...go over here then." She plopped back down on the couch, her arms folded. The two men having a stare down continued their conversation.

"She doesn't miss school."

"Of course."

"She doesn't get pulled into any of your business."

"Not yet, no."

"Not  _ever_. Not until she's old enough. I know how your missions work,  _and_  how they end up."

Steve paused, then nodded. "Alright."

"No jumping into unknown danger, no flying off to god knows where. She stays here, you train her, and that's it. If anything changes, this is off and I make sure she never sees you two or any Avenger again."

"You have my word." Rogers nodded. "She'll be safe."

"Um!" Ellie cut in. "Don't I get a say in any of this?"

"No."

The stares she got told her enough as well. "Ellie, go on upstairs to bed." Tanner turned back to Steve, keeping his eyes on him. "It's a school night. We'll talk about it more tomorrow."

"But-"

"Girl, don't make me change my damn mind."

She quickly grabbed her backpack from the ground and took off towards the stairs to her room. Before she rounded the corner out of sight, Ellie peaked back through the stair railing. "Wait! Does this mean I'm getting a new suit?"

Steve snorted, a smile finally playing on his lips while Nick grinned. "Kid," Fury exclaimed. "You're getting a new suit."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Ellie then went out of sight from the men, her joyful giggles heard even from the distance. The remaining group waited until her cascading footsteps above them grew silent, her bedroom door closing shut. Nick cleared his throat, looking at Tanner with a more serious demeanor than earlier.

"Boy, in another life you could've been one  _hell_  of an actor. Actin' like you don't know me."

Tanner's jaw clenched up. "And you picked one hell of a time to show up with this clown." The truth was away from his sister's ears. That's all he cared about. "Why now? You've never once had to come up here."

"Like we said," Steve cut in, rolling his shoulders. "The situation's changed."

"Wow, I didn't know Nick Fury turned into a 6 foot tall white man looking like Brawny out of the paper aisle!"

"Son-"

"I ain't your son,  _Cap_."

"Alright, alright," Nick stepped in between the two. "We ain't come here to see which one of you had more brawn than brain. Tanner, I get it. I really do. But she's gonna be vital to the shit storm that's coming our way."

Tanner blinked, then looked at both of them. "How bad are we talking?"

"...The worst."

* * *

_The dream was the same again. Almost the same._

_She was stuck in the same dark room, with the same dead body. Old, weathered eyes gazing back at her in shock and horror. The woman's chilling voice in her ears._

_"Remember...remember..."_

_Soon, the body faded and the room almost seemed to grow darker. She felt cold, so goddamn cold. The blood on her hands was dry, no longer warm. She was freezing, huddled up in a ball all by herself._

_Normally, this is where her dream would end. She would be free of the darkness._

_But that moment didn't come._

_"What do you want me to remember?" She heard herself ask._

_No reply, as always._

_Frowning, she uncurled herself and stood up. Looking around in the endless dark abyss. "What do you want me to remember?" She asked more loudly. "Huh? Just who are you? What do you want from me?!"_

_As an answer, a bright light enveloped the room and her. So bright that she had to cover her eyes to protect them from the rays. A shadow appeared before her, seemingly protecting her from the light. A tall, humanoid figure stood above her ominously. A small, confused hum hits Ellie's ears. The same woman's voice, only lighter. Familiar even. More...empathetic than what it usually was._

_"You finally speak to me? After all this time? Odd...your spirit feels much different now." The shadow's hand reached out for the girl, but Ellie quickly stepped back and fell to her behind. The shadow's hand drew back, and Ellie could feel the being's calm sorrow._

_"No, I suppose you are not ready just yet. But you will be...Please, Ellie, just remember me..."_

_Then the shadow was gone. And the yellow light consumed Ellie._

"Hey, Ellie! ...Earth to Ellie! Wake up!"

Ellie quickly snorted, looking around her surroundings. She found herself not in a place that was as bright as the sun, but rather she found herself in the empty school gymnasium. Well, not exactly empty - there were a couple of tables, a few kids with yellow blazers on talking among themselves down on the gymnasium floor, and her best friend, who was staring down at her weirdly on the bleachers.

"Alright, alright." Ellie yawned, stretching and lifting herself up. "I'm up, okay."

Holly frowned, helping her friend up from the wooden stairs. "You sounded like you were having one messed up dream. You okay?"

She really didn't know how to answer that. "Uh-"

"Holly! Eileen! What are you two doing all the way up there?"

The two girls looked down the bleachers to see the head of the Midtown School of Science and Technology's academic decathlon team, Roger Harrington. He readjusted the glasses on his face, waving for the girls to come down.

Holly grinned, pulling Ellie along down the stairs. "I can't believe you're going to be on the decathlon team!"

"It would be better if you were on it with me, you know."

"Naaaah! You'll be fine, you're smart as a whip! Plus You-Know-Who and Ned will be there, so I know you'll be fine."

Ellie sighed, running a hand through her hair. A lot has happened in the past few days: Tanner finding out about her secret, meeting Steve Rogers and then starting to train under him to become a Secret Avenger. Her date with Peter was, regrettably, the last thing on her mind. Now that Holly mentioned it, she came to a horrifying realization that she was going on her first official date  _ever_  in less than 12 hours.

Yep. Totally not horrifying at all.

"Now you look sick again," Holly looked Ellie over as they reached the gym floor. "Don't tell me you forgot about the date tonight?"

"No, of course not! I just...you know, it's the first time for me."

"Look, we have the whole Saturday to prepare! I'm not going to let you go into uncharted territory without some help. Either way, I'm sure Peter will love whatever outfit we get you in."

"...Where is Peter, anyway?"

Holly looked around, then shrugged. "Everyone else in the decathlon is here. He must be running late."

The girls finally get over to Mr. Harrington, who quickly takes Ellie's hand to shake. "Eileen, you really are a lifesaver! We're in need of some fresh blood for the competition this year, so I'm glad you're willing to try out."

"No problem, Mr. Harrington," Ellie smiled. "I'm just surprised that no one else is here for tryouts."

"Yeah, well, the club isn't necessarily the biggest out there. But we do our best with what we got! We've had some tough losses here and there, including your friend Holly. She was a real killer, if you must know."

"My nickname was Jaws," Holly teased in Ellie's ear.

"Actually, it was Baby Jaws," Harrington chuckled. "You were too small to be the actual Jaws."

Holly mocked an offended gasp. "And you wonder why I left this club!" Grinning, she fist-bumped Ellie before looking down at her wristwatch. "Shoot! I gotta go - since Liz is working on the decathlon tryouts, I gotta head up the council meeting. Break a leg, Duncan!"

"I'd rather not."

"Figure of speech, my dear," Holly winked. "Figure of speech."

As Holly took her leave jogging out of the gymnasium, Harrington pulled Ellie over to the side. "So, Eileen-"

"Oh! Mr. Harrington, can you please call me Ellie? I mean, I know teachers usually call students by how they're written on roll call. But I usually just have people call me Ellie, if that's alright."

"No sweat, Ms. Duncan. I know all about those pesky first names. You know, I always told all my friends that I wanted to be named Johnny instead of Roger." Roger snickered for a minute, until his grin faded. "Until, you know, they didn't call me Johnny like I wanted them to...but that's okay! I get it, totally understand. Ellie, it is."

"Thanks, Mr. Harrington."

The science teacher nodded his head over to the students who were getting their mock debate tables set up. "Want to meet the rest of the team?"

"I was going to eventually!"

"Great! Now is great. Hey, everyone!" Mr. Harrington quickly got the rest of the decathlon team's attention, bringing them all around into a group as he stood beside a fidgeting Ellie. "Now, guys, as you know today is tryouts! And for this year's slot we have...well, just one person. But that's okay, because she is going to bring the fire for this year's competition!" Mr. Harrington looked over at Ellie and gestured towards her. "Ms. Eileen-"

"Um!"

"...I mean, Ms. Ellie Duncan. Say hi, Ellie."

"Umm, hi, Ellie?" Ellie awkwardly waved at the group, Liz and Ned being the only ones who really waved back. Michelle only blinked. Flash was too busy on his phone, and the rest? All gawking at her.

" _The_  Ellie Duncan?" Charles Murphy eyes' widened. "Yo! You're the girl who headbutted Griffin Clyde!"

"Yes, Charlie," Michelle rolled her eyes. "Way to state the obvious. The whole school knows that."

"Oh my god, did it hurt?" Cindy Moon placed a hand on her shoulder.

Abe Brown began to laugh. "I heard you cracked one of his ribs! I only wish I could have seen it."

"Are we really comfortable letting her be on the team?" Sally Avril tried to silently ask Liz, but Ellie's heightened hearing was able to pick up on it. "I heard all of the other clubs blacklisted her."

"Well, we aren't the other clubs, Sally." Liz then turned to smile at Ellie, walking up and holding out her hand. "Hey, I'm Liz. We haven't met officially."

Ellie quickly smiled back, shaking her hand. "Well, you are a senior. Our schedules aren't exactly the same."

"If only. Holly's told me a lot of things about you!"

"Good things?"

"Of course!"

Seeing her toothy grin, Ellie could see why Peter was interested in her before. She was picture perfect - President of the student council, head of the yearbook committee, and captain of the decathlon team. She was a package, and all Ellie had to offer was...well, random facts about books and animals. ' _Why the hell would Peter want to date me over her?_ ' The thought made Ellie's smile falter a bit. "Well, I'm glad that's the worst she told you."

"Okie doke! Ms. Duncan, are you ready to show us your stuff?" Harrington grinned, leading her over to the table. "So, just as a practice run, we'll be going through a few questions to see where your at in terms of trivia-"

Mr. Harrington's words were cut off by a loud bang from the gym's double doors. Sneakers squeaked loudly across the floor as Peter Parker entered the gymnasium, looking out of breath and sheepish. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Harrington! I got held up at the-"

"Internship, yes I know, Peter," Harrington sighed. "It's fine. I'm just glad you made it in time to see your new teammate in action!"

Peter looked confused for a moment, but only just. His brown eyes caught Ellie's own and he instantly lit up, a tired, dopey smile appearing on his face. "Oh...cool. Hey, E-Ellie." She felt her face heat up, and an even wider smile appeared on her face as she waved at him.

Maybe she was enough for him after all.

"Alright, Ellie." Liz held the practice note cards up to her face. "Ready to show us your stuff?"

Her eyes wavered away from Peter's for a moment, and she took a deep breath before looking confidently at Liz. "Hit me with your best shot, captain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is the official date! here's hoping nobody messes it up...
> 
> as always, comments are appreciated! here or on the blog~


	11. The Boy Kisses the Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> training commences between ellie and (not) cap, and the bird gal finally goes on her first date with peter! will it go well? read on and find out!

Ellie found herself in the weirdest place that Saturday afternoon. She had spent the whole morning with Holly after her induction into the decathlon team. They had shopped for different dresses and accessories that would fit for the date that evening, before the white haired teen finally decided on a simple sleeveless sunflower yellow dress that flowed around her knees. Peter had told her earlier in the day that they were going to head to dinner after they saw the movie, and seeing his nervous smile only made her more excited for the big event. 

Afterward shopping, Ellie got a text on her new burner phone from Cap-...well, Steve, to meet her at an address that took her to an abandoned warehouse near the Hudson River. It was there that her sort of official Avengers training would begin. Before Ellie even got the privilege to see the new suit that was made for her, Steve was going to train Ellie so that she could use her abilities to her best potential without the help of tech. From the videos that Fury showed him, it looked like she had some basics on hand-to-hand combat.

But he could tell that the girl was nervous to go at it on her first day as he led her to the private gym that S.H.I.E.L.D. had set up - with a whole ass fighting ring, punching bags, treadmill and weights to boot. That was the moment it clicked for Ellie that this was real.

"Captain-"

"Ellie, I'm not the Captain anymore," Steve sighed. "You don't have to call me that, remember?"

"Right, right! Sorry, sir, uh...well, can I call you Mr. Rogers then? Steve just sounds super weird to say right now."

He let out an amused snort. "Alright, Mr. Rogers will do just fine then."

Ellie nodded, wrapping her hand around with the white rope that Steve supplied her with. "Well, Mr. Rogers, I get that you want to see what I can do. But...do I _really_  have to hit you?"

He nodded, moving over to the makeshift ring in the middle of the wide room. Grabbing hold of the top ropes, he simply lifted himself over the ring's fence and bounced on its surface. "The only way I'm going to be able to train you properly is when I know just how well you can move in a fight. And I can't have you fighting thin air, now can I?"

Ellie bit her bottom lip. "I don't know..."

"Kid, I promise you, it's going to be okay. I've been in a fight before. All I'm asking you to do is try to lay a hit on me."

She caught the word 'try' and raised an eyebrow, only for Steve to just shrug. Sighing deeply, she moved to manipulate her wings to come out. But Steve stopped her with a hand. "Ah, ah! No wings."

"But, Mr. Rogers, I'm always fighting with my wings!"

"There's going to come a time where you won't have the advantage of flying out of attack range. We'll work our way up to that later. For now, just your hands will do."

Her eyes widened, an apparent frown on her face. Seeing that she wasn't going to get out of this, she slowly moved over to the ring, slipping under the ropes and rolling up to stand on the other side from her mentor. He only stood there staring at her, waiting to see when she was going to make a move. Awkwardly, Ellie spread her legs out and held her fists up towards him.

"...Mr. Rogers?"

"You can start anytime, Ellie."

“O-Okay. Here I come...I guess.”

Ellie took a deep breath, and after a few beats, charged forward with a small cry. Steve easily moved out of the way, grabbing at the fist that easily missed its mark towards his face. His hand twisted Ellie’s own palm, sending her spiraling on the makeshift fighting ring on her back. 

"Ouch!" Ellie hissed in pain. "Dude, that hurts!" 

“You held back with that," Steve explained, shaking his head. "You pretty quick, kid, I'll give you that. Your opponent, however, could be a hell of a lot faster. You have to watch your balance when you throw a punch." Ellie tried wrestling out of his grip, but Steve's hold was like a vice grip. She couldn't move. 

"From what Fury tells me in your file, you have a hollowed bone structure thanks to the bird DNA in your body. Which means-" He put more pressure on Ellie's finger, making her yelp in pain. "...you are faster. Faster than the average person. But, one wrong move, and I could easily break your bones. You need to rely less on just speed and agility, and more on your technique." Seeing his point made, Steve's face softened and he let her go. Ellie quickly held her hand, thankful that she had accelerated healing as the pain quickly subsided.

"Again."

"Again? We're going again?!"

"Yes, ma'am. This is only lesson one. And we'll keep going through lesson one, every day after you get out of school and your decathlon meetups until you can hit me. Then, that's when I'll teach you what I know."

Ellie sputtered, "H-Hang on! You never said I had to lay a hit on you to start train! Mr. Rogers, that isn't fair!"

Steve saw her distress, but merely smiled. "Then I guess you'll have to quit holding back, won't you?"

All Ellie could do was gape as Steve walked over to the opposite side of the ring and simply stood there again. So, getting to train with an Avenger wasn't going to be that easy it seemed. Ellie figured she'd get some sort of test - she didn't expect that she had to land a punch on the guy Captain America. The very concept of that, to her, was impossible...but if it was her only way of getting to work with the best superhero team ever and get that suit that she's been dying to see, then she guessed scratching that bearded face up a bit wasn't too much of a trade-off.

Steve witnessed Ellie face change. Her eyes narrowed, and she crept back into a fighting stance. Her legs steady, her hands in front of her once more.

"Fine then. No more holding back."

* * *

_A few hours of Ellie getting her ass handed to her later_

* * *

Ellie was laying in the middle of the fighting ring mat, trying to ease herself out of the exhaustion that plagued her body. Breathing was just as painful as the ache in her muscles, and the strength to get up just didn't find her. Looking up at the hole in the warehouse's roof, she heard the caws of the seagulls circling above and was certain they were mocking her.

' _You try fighting a super soldier with over 70 years of battle experience, bird brains_.'

Blinking, her vision of the birds was obscured by Mr. Rogers standing above her with his arms folded, a worried look on his face.

"You okay, Ellie?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm...I'm good. Just...I need...a minute."

Steve looked over at the clock hanging at the top of the far wall and shook his head. "No. That's it. You're done for the day."

"B-But, Mr. Rogers, I gotta-"

Ellie tried getting up, only to just land back on the mat with a low groan. "Aw, maaaaaan," She whined. "I can't be done! Not yet! Man...I didn't even land a hit..."

Steve snorted, holding a hand out for her to take. Pulling her up quick and (hopefully) painlessly, he patted her on the shoulder. "There's always tomorrow, kid. Besides, don't you have something to do tonight? I think your brother told me you were going out with a friend-"

Ellie's energy seemed to burst back into her body as she gave out a loud shriek. "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! What time is it?!" 

"6 o'clock?" Steve squinted his eyes over at the clock. "You're not late, are you?"

"No! But...shit! I've only got less than an hour to get ready! Why didn't you tell me it was almost 6 before?!"

Steve raised a brow. "Uh-"

"Never mind! Forget it! I should've been keeping up with the time! Ugh!" Ellie quickly jumped out of the ring and ran to grab her things. "I'll never make it back in time to get ready if I get on the MTA! Crap, I'll have to fly there!" 

"Now, wait a minute, young lady!" Steve leaned on the ropes watching the teenage girl frantically throw her personally sewn White Eagle mask over her face. "You can't use your powers to fly across the city just so you can-"

"It's my first date, Mr. Rogers!" Ellie pleaded with her eyes at Steve through her goggles. " _My! First! Date!_ "

"...Okay. I'll make an exception this time."

Ellie let out a sigh of relief, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. "Thank you so much! I swear, I won't use my powers like this ever again! Just this once! Promise! See ya tomorrow, Mr. Rogers!"

And, just like that, her wings burst through the back of her hoodie and she ran out the warehouse's wide opening, taking off into the sky towards her house. Steve watched her go, a small smile playing on his face before he looked to the ground with a sigh.

"We've got a lot of work to do..."

* * *

 "H-Hi, Tanner."

Tanner stood in the doorway, arms folded. He looked Peter up and down, and raised a brow. "Pete."

Peter would've like to say that he was patient enough to wait until 7 o'clock to come and pick up Ellie for their first date. But, that would've been a lie. He actually swung all the way over to her apartment a whole 30 minutes earlier than when they were supposed to head out. He figured it would've been cool, but the way Tanner was looking down at him made him think otherwise. Peter had decided to wear a short-sleeved black button-up shirt with grey denim jeans. A single sunflower was settled between his sweating palms, a gift he picked up on the way to the apartment. He lifted himself up and back down nervously, looking from Tanner's eyes to over the older Duncan's shoulder.

"...Um, is it cool if I come in?"

“I don’t know. _Can_ you come in?”

Peter felt his hands get even more sweaty. There was an uncomfortable beat before Tanner’s stoic stare quickly turned to a mischievous gleam. "Pfft! Hahaha!" Tanner slammed his hand down on Peter's shoulder, giving it a few firm pats. The teen boy was thankful he had super strength, he knew it would've hurt if he didn't. "I'm just messing with you, kid. Come on in. She's still getting ready."

Peter nodded, walking behind Tanner as he entered the Duncan's apartment. He had been over a couple of times before, either to help Ellie study or just hang out in the living room playing the Nintendo 64 that Ellie found and fixed up. Only this time, he wasn't over to play a casual game of Mario Kart. The sweat on his palms made that apparent enough. The only thought in his mind was how the heck he was going to pull this off? Would she enjoy herself? Did he do to much? The anticipation was killing him, unironically enough.

Tanner noticed Peter's awkward stance and smirked. "Nervous, huh?"

"W-What?" Tanner's question caught Peter off guard. "Nervous? Nah, not at all!" 

"Uh huh." Walking over to the small kitchen, Tanner began to pour himself some coffee. "Want anything to drink? Water? Tea? Beer to calm the nerves?"

"Beer? I-I'm underage!"

"Correctamundo." Tanner opened the door to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He came back into the living room and handed it to Peter. "That's the right answer. Water is better for you anyways."

Peter smiled awkwardly, saying thanks before he set the sunflower down on the coffee table in order to open his bottle. While he was quickly swallowing the contents, Tanner stood in front of him with his arms folded. It wasn't until Peter was done that he began to speak. "You know the rules, right? No having her out after 10, bring her back home happy and safe, don't get into trouble, and no making her unhappy. Just dinner and a movie, right?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

"And no kissing." Peter went silent, making Tanner raise a brow. "No. Kissing."

"Right, right! No kissing, I got it."

"Good. It's only your first date, I don't need you playing mac moves on my baby sister just yet. I'm watching you, Parker." Before Peter could say anything else, Tanner called up the stairs. "Ellie!"

"What?!" Peter could hear Ellie screech from upstairs.

"Your date's here, loser!"

Tanner and Peter flinched when they heard a clatter of noise from beyond the staircase, and string of muffled curses. "Language!" Tanner shouted up.

"Sorry, sorry! I'll be down in a sec!"

Peter quickly threw his empty water bottle away and grabbed the sunflower, making sure it wasn't too worst for wear. He made the mistake of looking over at Tanner again, who was glowering at him while he was sipping out of his coffee mug. He understood that this was the 'protective older brother & guardian' act, but it didn't really help his already heightened nerves. He kept fidgeting with the stem, taking a couple of deep breaths. He tried to remember May's words - this wasn't anything too new. He and Ellie have gone out together before. Nothing's change. She's still her and he's still him. 

"Ellie!"

"Tanner, hang on! I'm coming down, god."

As soon as he saw her appear at the top of the steps, Peter felt himself freeze up. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, now more than before. Her white hair had been curled into spirals, flowing from her shoulders and over her chest. Her nails had been painted black, paired with her bright yellow maxi sundress, its lace borders stopping just above her ankles. Her wide, almond-shaped eyes were accented with black, winged eyeliner, and her cheeks glowed with a golden highlight. Peter could only blink and feel his mouth fall partially open.

"Wow..."

Ellie could pick up on the breathless word, feeling her cheeks heat up. She looked down at him with a bashful smile. "Hey, Pete."

"Hey...Ellie, uh...you look...really pretty, wow." 

"You don't look too bad yourself."

Ellie bounced off of the last step to stand in front of her date. Seeing Peter still staring at her with that adorable dopey look on his face, she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You know, the more you stare like that, the more my brother is gonna glare at you."

Peter peered at Tanner out of the corner of his eye, and he was definitely giving him the 'I'm watching you' look. Swallowing hard, he muttered, "He's not gonna chew my head off, is he?"

"Not if you hurry up and gimme that sunflower." Ellie took the stem from Peter's hand, and inhaled the scent. "Smells amazing. How'd you know these were my favorites?"

"Oh! Uh, you told me a while back and I remembered. I bought it from a nice flower lady on the way here."

"Mrs. Espinoza? Oh, yeah, she blooms the best flowers! Wow, I can't believe you remembered!" She quickly pulled him into a tight hug, spinning around with a light giggle. Peter laughed a bit, but he caught Tanner's eyes narrowing at him. Peter cleared his throat, pulling away from Ellie and smiling down at her. "It's-it's no big deal."

"Sure it is! I've never gotten a flower before. Thanks so much, Pete." Ellie quickly grabbed his hand and started moving towards the door. "Okay, bye Tanner! See you later!"

" _Hold it_!"

Ellie stopped at the door, slowly turning back around with a roll of her eyes. Tanner walked over to the two and stared at Peter before looking at Ellie. "Both of you remind me of what you're gonna do tonight."

"Dinner and movie. Come back before 10, get home happy and safe, no funny business," Ellie and Peter both recited in unison.

"...And?"

"Oh my god," Ellie groaned. "And no kissing! Jeez, Tanner. It's the first date. We're not gonna kiss, relax!"

Tanner smiled, lifting his coffee mug to them. "Cheers. Okay then, go on and do whatever kids do on first dates. And remember, Peter, I'm always watching."

Peter stiffly nodded, while Ellie shook her head. "You're not all seeing, so stop scaring him. Let's go, Peter."

"O-Okay. See you later, Tanner!"

"10 o'clock, Parker!" Tanner reminded them as the teens ran to the elevator. "10. O'clock."

The elevator doors opened and they rushed inside, Ellie giving Tanner an overly enthusiastic wave as the doors were closing. As soon as the doors closed, Ellie flipped her middle finger up to the metal reflective surface. "It's his mission in life to keep babying me," She grumbled, folding her arms. "Honestly! Trying to scare you like that."

"It's okay, El. He's just worried, that's all."

"Why? He _knows_ you! You're not some stranger I met on the streets. It's not like you're going to take advantage of me or something." 

"You can never be too sure."

Ellie raised a brow over at Peter. "Are you saying you would take advantage of me?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Then don't defend him!" Ellie moveded a strand of hair out of her face and sighed, watching the numbers on the elevator's digital counter slowly descend. Peter sighed through his nose, twiddling his thumbs. It was silent for a bit before the elevator dinged to the bottom floor. She stepped out the moment the silver doors opened, walking quickly towards the apartment's exit. She moved so fast Peter had to jog a bit to catch up to her.

"Hey! Are you mad at me?"

"No, Peter, I'm not mad at you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! I'm super."

"...You don't sound like it."

"Oh my god, I'm not mad at you! I'm mad at my brother, okay? But it's fine. I'll be over it by the time we get to the movie."

"Looks like I'm already making you not happy. So much for those rules, eh?"

Peter pushed the apartment's glass entrance door open for Ellie, following her down the small set of stairs. The evening breeze hit both of their bodies as they walked out, walking in the direction of the MTA station. They had walked for a bit until Ellie stopped for a moment, looking up at Peter and pouted. "Sorry. I'm being a jerk, aren't I?"

"Nah...I mean, maybe a little bit." Peter held up his hand and closed his thumb and index fingers together. "Just this much."

"Peter, they're touching!"

"Exactly."

Ellie laughed and lightly pushed Peter's shoulder, grabbing his arm while they walked. "Jerk. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"How so?"

"Hmm...I got it!" Ellie grins, "You already broke one rule, right? So! We, my amazingly cute date, are going to break every single one of my brother's rules tonight."

"Every single one?"

"Every single one."

"But, won't your brother-"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Peter thought about it for a moment, but then Ellie caught his ears catching a scarlet red color. "Does the idea of breaking rules really make you blush, Petey?"

"No! I was just-" Peter stopped himself.

"What?"

"...I was just thinking about the no kissing rule." He muttered lowly. 

Ellie then she felt her own face warm up. Holding his arm a bit tighter, she merely chuckled. "We are breaking that rule _especially._..if this night you planned goes well, I mean."

Peter snorted. "Whatever you say... _Ellie Belly_."

Ellie gasped. "PETER!"

* * *

Hours later, and Ellie and Peter are running away hand and hand from the _La Petit Chateau_ Restaurant. The restaurant owner, Alphonse, ran out from the entrance and waved a spatula menacingly towards the laughing teens. " _Merde_!" The Frenchman didn't bother chasing after them, wiping the spaghetti sauce off of his face. "You damned kids! You tell Stark that if I ever catch you in my restaurant again, I'll skin you both alive!"

" _Ta gueule_ _, salop_!" Ellie laughed over her shoulder when she heard the far away gasp and further curses from the Frenchman.

When the two finally got around the corner and as far from the restaurant as possible, Peter paused to catch his breath. "Holy...ha, crap! That was...awesome! Whoo! Oh, man...Mr. Stark...is gonna...kill me!"

"Oh, no, he won't. You can just blame it on me. It was kind of my fault, anyways."

"I'm the one who asked if you could speak French!"

"And I'm the one who decided to use my limited knowledge of the French language to call the owner a...I think a dog?" Peter guffawed, holding his burning sides. "I can't help if the only French I knew was curse words and the word 'dog'! And then I think he called me a little shit, so I threw the spaghetti at him."

"Yeah, okay, fine El. It was mainly you."

"Hey! You had your fair share of trouble, talking all through the dang movie!"

"I didn't talk all the way through it! I just thought it was so stupid! I mean, we wasted $14 on an entire plot that was predictable from start to finish! And I still don't get why horror movies barely ever get to the 2 hour mark in run time!"

"That's psychological horror movies, babe," Ellie chuckled. "They're all like that."

"Saw wasn't like that," Peter grumbled.

"They can't all be Saw!"

He laughed. "They can with better screenwriters!"

Ellie opened her purse and pulled out one of the bread sticks that she managed to wrangle from the restaurant. "Open your mouth." Breaking it in half, she put one of the halves between Peter's lips and chewed on her half. "God, this isn't even garlic bread! It's just...bread! Man! Tony Stank really has low standards, huh?"

" _Stark_ , Ellie. Tony Stark. It's a five star restaurant that we had all to ourselves! I wouldn't call standards low."

"Look, I will say that what he did was very nice. I still don't like him, and not even a five star French restaurant with a boujee ass owner with no garlic bread is going to change my mind!"

Peter let out a sigh, chewing on his bread stick. "Hey, Ellie. Why don't you like Mr. Stark?"

"You mean besides all of the many valid reasons why most people don't like him?" Ellie shrugged, throwing her piece of bread over in an alley. A dog or cat could have a nibble on the plain bread. "The dude gives me vibes, is all."

"Vibes?"

"Yeah. Vibes."

"What kind of vibes?"

"The jerk kind of vibes."

"He's not a jerk!"

"Peter, I get you intern for the guy so you're a little biased. Until I meet the guy and he proves me wrong, that's how I feel."

Peter went to say something, but thought against it. Instead, he pouted, stuffing his mouth with the last of his bread. Mr. Stark had his faults, sure, but he wasn't bad at all. 

What he didn't know was that the large reason Ellie held animosity towards Mr. Stark was because of the fight between him and Steve those few months ago. She held her own bias on the matter, choosing Mr. Roger's side of things with the Accords. The fact that one was still living it large and free as a bird, while the other was on the run hiding from the law didn't help change her opposition. That, and he just reminded her of someone she thought she knew...but she couldn't put her mind on who it could've been.

"Alright, forget about the old guy," Ellie waved it off with a smile. "This is still our night! We still got a few rules to break. It's only...9 o'clock. I think we should take the scenic route home, don't you?"

Peter smiled. "Scenic route, it is."

The long way home was as scenic as it could get on the subway. Out of pure boredom, Ellie got the bright idea of performing the entirety of her favorite movie, _High School Musical_ , all to the five other people that were riding the way back to Queens. Peter jumped in to help out from time to time with a scene, but they both left the kissing scenes out. By the time they reached their stop, they were rewarded with a few claps of approval as they bowed. A rumble of thunder echoed through the sky as they ran down the streets, trying their best to fight the tide of rain that was soon to follow. By the time they reached the safety of Ellie's apartment building, they were both drenched in rain water as flashes of lightning went through the sky.

"My makeup!" Ellie wailed. She tried wringing out the water from her dress under the roofed stoop that kept the rain from falling on her further, but the fabric still stuck to her skin uncomfortably. "So much for the scenic route, huh?"

"Shit, I'm sorry Ellie!" Peter ran a hand through his soaked hair. "I would've brought an umbrella if I knew! And now you're drenched, and your makeup is ruined, and I keep saying the wrong things. Ugh. This night has gone to-"

She covered his mouth. "Ssh! Peter, if you must know, this night was everything I hoped for."

Peter muffled out a "Really?"

"Really." 

Peter moved her hand. "You're...you're not mad?"

"Why would I be when I'm with you, dummy?"

She laughed, that pretty laugh where she'd tilt her head and look at him with her eyes twinkling. It set his nerves on fire, her looking at him like that. Like she really meant the things that she said about him. And she did. Really mean it. It made him swallow hard, the only thing that he could really pay attention to at that moment was her. Her face, her eyes, her smile...her lips. Those lips. 

"And it is exactly 10:01 PM." Ellie grinned, looking away from her phone and back at Peter. "Peter, my partner in crime, it looks like we've broke every rule."

"...Except the last one."

"Yeah..." He caught her looking down at his lips, licking her own. "Except the last one."

Peter thought three things at that moment.

One: If Tanner Duncan found out about this, he was a dead man.

Two: Aunt May was going to freak when she picks him up and sees how wet he is.

Three: Eileen Duncan - his Ellie - looked so damn beautiful under this light, even drenched in water and her eyeliner running down her face. How couldn't he kiss her, right then, right now? But, even with that in mind, he felt himself hesitate. He wasn't that experienced with kissing...well, anybody. This was her first date, meaning this was also probably her first kiss. He remembered his own first kiss a while back - it was so quick and so wet, he recalled how much the girl in question hated it. But that was back in 8th grade. Maybe he had gotten better? Oh, god, he had hoped he'd gotten better with it. 

"Peter?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"You need some help here, handsome?" A soft hand on his cheek threw away all of the doubt in his mind.

"No...Ellie."

"Hmm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She didn't expect him to ask even after they both agreed that they were going to break the rule. He was always so sweet. "Of course, dork."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay. Then..."

Ellie felt his lips on hers, finally, and let out the breath she was holding through her nose. Her eyelids closed, a wave of emotions cascading throughout her body while she rested her hands on his shoulders. She didn't see fireworks behind her eyes like they said she would in the movies, but she sure felt them. She could still taste the lingering strawberry on his sweet lips. It was almost like time had stopped, and the rain's smacking patter on the concrete wasn't as loud as her heart racing in her ears. 

She pulled away and stared at him with half-lidded eyes, grinning. "That was...tubular."

The relief that waved over Peter made him laugh softly. "Tubular? Really?"

"It was the first word that came to mind!"

"I didn't know that you were a closeted surfer girl, Els."

"I have never been to California in my life."

"And yet, you say tubular."

"Parker?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and kiss me again."

The second kiss was just as good as the first, if not less chaste. Ellie had to stand on her toes just to keep up, Peter's hands finding their way from her cheeks into the thick mane that was her hair. He moved slower, he wanted it to last longer than before. The way she moved her mouth over his, so fluidly and so natural, it was like this was meant to be. Her lips were so soft, she was so soft. And she was with him. Happy. With him. How did he luck out like this? 

They both pulled away from each other, breaths hitting each other's faces with wide grins etched on the corners of their mouths.

"You know, I still can't believe you like me."

Ellie snorted. "And I still can't believe that you like me."

"Who wouldn't like you? You're beautiful, you're smart, you're funny. You're a great friend. And, apparently, you can sing all of _High School Musical_ terribly. How could I resist?"

"Bite me, Parker. You're a great friend too, you know. And handsome. And intelligent. And it helps that you're a good kisser." Ellie gasped. "Oh, wait, that was my first kiss! Come on, tell me...was I good or bad for the first tries?"

His hands never moved from her cheeks, drawing circles on her skins with his thumbs. "They were perfect. You're perfect."

She was struck by those words, moving his hands from her face. "D-Don't be cheesy!"

"Who's blushing now?"

"Do I have to kiss you again to shut you up?"

"Please."

Their noses were nuzzling once again, but before they could move in for a third kiss, Ellie's phone began to vibrate along with the Star Wars ringtone she had set in her purse. She pulled away reluctantly and saw Tanner's caller ID and sighed. "Oh, great. Thanks, Tan."

"I should, uh...I should get you back to your apartment."

"Uh huh." Ellie smiled up at Peter and quickly pecked him on the cheek. "Looks like we didn't get to break every rule after all."

Peter look confused. "But I thought we did?"

"Nah. We forgot one: bring me home happy and safe. And I think I'm pretty happy and safe with you."

He felt the blush resurface on his face, letting his arm fall over Ellie's shoulder as they walked into the apartment. Ellie Duncan really was going to be the death of him. And he wouldn't have it any other way. 

Unbeknownst to the blushing couple, the blue haired woman with silver eyes who watched their every move that night was hidden away in a dark alleyway under an umbrella. Smiling wickedly, her licked the back of her hand of the blood that was currently being drained from the homeless man that laid dead behind her. 

"So...it really is you, Eileen. After all these years...finally found you, sis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooooooooo boi


	12. The Rhino Ruins Everything (Part I)

"Class, class...silence!"

Mr. Manic rubbed a hand over his face, his fingernails clicking on the black rims and clear lens of his glasses. He should've expected the live, chattering uproar from his class towards the end of the day. Especially after he had the misfortune of announcing that there would be a field trip to the National Air and Space Museum in D.C. coming up in the next two weeks. It always happened this way. He had to do it every damn year to a new group of mischievous, genius teenagers. He figured his colleagues got a kick out of hearing him complain about how the students couldn't focus on any of his lesson plans after the announcement - one time, he was sure Harrington (the cad) had the audacity to laugh about how loud his class was going to be this time. While that prat gets to make jokes, everyone gets upset when Maniac makes jabs about Harrington's wife leaving him for a swimsuit model. Those jerks just couldn't handle the truth.

And now, here he was. Stuck with the hell that was a full classroom of students who were more interested in making up plans and typing on their phones without so much as a glance to the board. In all of the previous years, Mr. Manic would simply pack up his things and leave out of the room. None of them would notice.

But not this time. This year, he was ready.

The English teacher quickly began to rummage through his desk drawer until, finally, his eyes caught the tool that he needed. An air horn with a Post-It note attached that said ' _FOR CLASS TRIP ANNOUNCEMENTS_!'

His hand gently grabbed the horn, turning its nozzle towards the talkative crowd of teens. Mr. Manic, with the smuggest smirk plastered on his pale face, pressed hard on the trigger. The blare emitting from the horn immediately stopped the students in their tracks, each of them either holding their ears or complaining under its roar. It even shrieked in the teacher's own ears, but the shocked and pained looks on their faces was worth it.

He released his hold on the horn's trigger after a few moments, enjoying the regained silence of the classroom. Letting out a deep breath, he placed the device down on the desk's wood surface. "Now, as I was saying, Shakespeare's life-"

Another blare rang in everyone's ears. Only, this time, it was not the painful shriek of a horn. Rather, it was the ringing of the school bell signalling the end of the school day.

"N-Now, wait a minute!" Mr. Manic tried to shout over the commotion of students packing their things and charging out of the classroom. "The bell doesn't excuse you! I do!" 

None of them seem to hear him, nor did they care.

"Well, lesson will resume tomorrow! The field trip costs is $150! Be sure that your parent or guardian signs the permission slip by-"

The classroom door slammed shut, the silence quickly coming back into the room now that they had all left. 

"...Friday." Mr. Manic leaned against his desk with a sigh. "God, I need a drink."

Elsewhere, while Mr. Manic was contemplating on which type of alcohol would be his poison tonight, the Midtown nerd quartet were grouped up together as they walked down the hallway planning for the upcoming trip.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Ned grinned. "I've never been to the National Air and Space Museum before! It connects two of my favorite things!"

"Lemme guess," Ellie snorted. "Would they happen to be air and space?"

Ned faked a gasp. "Ellie! How did you know?"

"I don't know. I think I'm becoming a psychic, slowly but surely."

Peter snickered, leaning in close to Ellie. "Don't you mean a telepath?"

"Psychic, telepath, aren't they the same thing?"

"Nah!"

"Yes, they are!"

"No, no, physics talk to the dead. Telepaths can read your mind and stuff."

"Since when were you a geek for supernatural phenomenon, Parker?" Holly raised a brow.

Peter blinked, a blush coming onto his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I mean...a while back. I just thought it was pretty interesting, you know."

"It is." Ellie smiled up at him, making him blush even further. "Thanks for the lesson, Professor Parker." Before Peter could get another word in, she slipped a hand between his own while Ned and Holly weren't looking. He looked down at her, surprise evident on his face. Ellie only shrugged and walked in step with him, squeezing his hand gently. He couldn't help but grin to himself.

"Look, all I'm saying is," Ellie and Peter finally broke from their own wordless exchange to hear Holly's words. "We could go to the White House, light up some eggs, and throw them hard-boiled at the fence!"

"Why would you throw them hard-boiled?" Ned said. "Isn't that like...the opposite of egg throwing? Plus, the security would tackle you before you even got one egg out!"

"Not if I outrun them, they won't."

"Which, again, very unlikely."

"Why are you putting down my plans of civil rebellion, Leeds?"

"Cause, if he doesn't, you'd end up in juvie," Ellie quipped in.

Holly turned her playful, narrow eyes towards her best friend and Peter. She was about to say something, but stopped when she caught the duo's hands not so stealthily between each other. Intertwined, Peter's thumb slowly rubbing circles on Ellie's palm. She couldn't help but grin. "Well, well, well. I can see why you haven't gave me the details of last weekend, Duncan. Date went well?"

They both looked puzzled for a split second, then they realized exactly where Holly's mischievous eyes were looking at. They quickly separated, Peter's face turning back bright red and Ellie's brown cheeks sporting their own red blush.

"M-Maybe," Ellie rubbed her nose.

Peter added, "Yeah! It was, um...cool?"

"Before or after you guys made out?" Ned smirked. Holly raised a hand up top, and they both slapped palms. Peter and Ellie's eyes were like saucers.

"HEY!"

"When the man is right, he's right!" Holly mimicked kissing faces. "Oh, Peter! Your lips!"

"I don't sound like that!"

"Oh, Ellie!" Ned mocked Peter as well. " _Your_ lips!"  

"Dude!"

Ellie's hands covered her cheeks while Ned and Holly kept making kissing noises. "Stoooooooop!"

"You guys! Man, quit it!" Peter whined.

Ned and Holly only kept laughing, wiping the tears from their eyes. The two of them paused when they were finally out of breath. Not because of the blushing glares of their close friends. "I'm-I'm sorry, guys." Ned wheezed out a tiny chuckle. "It was funny!"

"We-" Holly giggled. "We are loving this Pellie ship, a hundred percent. Just, uh...don't go frenching each other in a broom closet when we're not looking!"

Holly and Ned both fell back into guffawing, crumbling onto the floor. While neither Peter or Ellie shared telepathic powers, they both turned in their direction of their decathlon meeting and stormed off. Eventually, when they got to the next hall and no one was looking, they took back each others' hands with red face. But huge smiles.

"...Pellie?"

Ellie giggled, pulling Peter closer to lay her head on his shoulder.

"Eh. I think I kinda like it."

* * *

Aleksei was understandably confused. He looked to the blue haired woman, then back to the old man who was sitting on an rocking chair with an empty glass in his hand.

"You...want me to attack children?"

The past week had been rough on the Russian mobster. Abandoned by his family to the system and forced to accept an offer from a complete stranger, Aleksei figured that much less in his life could get worst. And now, this man - this old, cryptic, annoying old prick - was asking him to go after high schoolers. In an vacant, old building near the bustle of the city. 

"You misunderstand me, Aleksei. Not attack them." The mysterious old fellow stood up on a cane, limping over towards the wooden counter, holes littered all over the surface. The stutter in his step wasn't too noticeable to the trained eye, but the pain was quite clear on his wrinkled, weathered face. He takes a swipe at the bottle of whiskey, pouring himself a drink into his glass. "I simply need you to garner some necessary attention. Surely you know how."

The Russian mobster nodded. "да. I know how. But..."

"But what?"

"You never said I would need to _touch_ children."

A scoff came from the woman with blue hair. Aleksei whipped around to look at her, seeing that sinister smile on her face. He did not like her. Her bright, yellow cat-like eyes sent chills down his spine whenever he looked directly at her. So much so, he had to remind himself to look at her nose, never her eyes. And the way that she appeared out of nowhere, creeping around in the shadows. Her pale skin looked ghostly in the soft moonlight. "You're a criminal who regularly dealt in drugs and human trafficking, but you draw the line at touching children?"

The old man rolled his eyes. "Play nice."

"I am being nice. He's being foolish." The woman languidly walked around Aleksei, a playful smirk on her face. "Come on, tell me. What is the difference? You killing men for not following your orders and pimping out girls fresh out of college is less sinful than terrorizing a group of children? I just find his moral compass odd, is all." She looked him up and down, her mouth twitching with disgust. "Maybe you are just as soft as your father, hm?"

Aleksei quickly stood before her to his full height, clenching his fists tight to his sides. She didn't flinch though. In fact, her face twisted with her sharp-toothed grin, showing off her canine rows of teeth to the Russian.

"I could break you in half, woman."

"Ooooh!" She licked her lips. "Go ahead and try. I'm a bit famished, and I'd love to dig my teeth into that thick neck of yours."

" _Francine_!"

Aleksei and the woman - Francine - whipped their heads to the sound of glass breaking. The old man stood before them, the remaining shards in his hand falling to the floor while drops of blood began to drip from his palm. His eyes were hard and narrowed, the grey and black peppered stubble of his jaw clenched. Francine's shocked look softened, but she quickly glared at Aleksei before stomping back into the shadows. While Aleksei couldn't see her, he knew that she was not too far away watching.

It made his skin crawl.  

"Aleksei, my boy." The old man put an arm out. "Help me downstairs, will you?"

The Russian hesitated for a moment, but his feet eventually carried him over to where the man stood, taking his arm around his as he began to help him down the stairs, further into the creaky building. Another thing with these people that gave Aleksei the creeps was what lied in the basement. An assortment of devices and mechanical machines - jars filled with odd, green gel that was eerily bright as it bubbled; papers with equations and words that didn't make sense to Aleksei's eyes; and, towards the end of the space, a large container with pipes connected to clear canisters filled with yellow gas. Aleksei was certain the old man was some mad scientist, not that he told him that much. 

The pair eventually made it to the first aid kit, where the old man opened the case and took out the tweezers from it. As he began to pull the shards that embedded themselves into his skin, he gave Aleksei a tired smile.

"Don't worry, Mr. Sytsevich. I'm not asking you to do such a thing without a purpose to its end. All I need for you to do is make enough of a racket to summon some...pests, as it were."

Aleksei hummed. "Pests?"

"Yes." The old man hissed, continuing to pull at the last remaining shards. "You've met one of them already. In fact, I believe he is the very reason you found yourself in a jail cell not too recently."

 _Spider-Man_.

Aleksei grunted angrily. "And the other?"

"Someone I've been looking to find for quite some time..." There was an odd calmness in that answer, one that Aleksei was actually intrigued about. With one final tug on the last glass shard, the old man sighed and grabbed the isopropyl alcohol to pour it over his wound. "They both are the components I need to complete my masterpiece. However, the one with wings is the highest priority. Spider-Man is merely a new piece to the board."

"I don't care about your plans. Tell me what I need to do to crush the паук."

The old man gritted his teeth as he wrapped his hand with the white wrapping, staring down to stare while it turned from white to a light red from his blood. "What you need to do, Aleksei, is become stronger. You will not be able to capture either of them the way you are now. I could give you that power. All you have to do, my boy, is say yes."

Aleksei weighed his options. He could say no, try to leave and punch and kick the old man and the woman if he needed to. He'd go back to his family, ask his father why he left him to rot in jail after everything he had done for him. All of the blood that he's shed for him. The sins he's committed...

Or he could say yes. He saw how the girl upstairs looked. She was evil looking, sure. But he couldn't deny that he felt some electricity in the air every time he was near her. Like, if the old man commanded her, he would be dead on the floor before he could even so much as lay a hand on her. This old man must've given her that strength, those abilities. With some like those, he could kill Spider-Man with his bare hands. Kill _anyone_ who so much as got in his way. Who betrayed him and left him for ruin. 

"You can make me stronger? You mean this?"

The old man nodded. "Of course, Aleksei. Have I lied to you so far?"

"...Not to my knowledge."

"Then you must trust me."

"Trust?" Aleksei laughed with a shake of his whole body. "I don't trust you. I don't trust that woman you have watching from the dark. Any other day, and I'd already have killed you both. But I want the spider. And I am going to get him. With your help."

The old man's smile grew wide, grinning like the Cheshire Cat himself. He stood back up on his cane, patting the Russian man on his shoulder. "You won't just be getting the spider, Aleksei. You will be getting much, much more. Now, wait here."

He moved up the stairs by himself this time, leaving Aleksei to contemplate his decision. As he reached the final stair up, he looked around the room and limped over towards the counter. He knew she was there. Watching, like always.

"Speak, my child."

Francine emerged from the dark, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from him before he could reach it. "Why send that soft oaf?" Her voice wavered with irritation. "He is not fully committed."

"He will be, with time. Have faith."

Blue, straight hair blew over her shoulders, moving from one side to the other in a fast and almost phantom-like side step before the old man could grab the bottle back from her. "The arachnid is the only reason why he has agreed to this. When he is disposed of, what do you suppose he'll do then? Hmm?"

"Nothing you can't handle, my dove, I'm sure. Now-"

"No!" She pulled the bottle further from his reach. "Why even wait? We already know where Ellie and that scum brother of hers are. I could capture them easily by myself, I don't need his help!"

"The Rhino is needed, Francine. Not for you, but for me. Our plans are only just beginning, and the Duncans are simply one part of it. An important part, but only one none the less. We won't be needing them just yet."

"Then when?! When will we get them? We've been looking for them all these years and now that we have them right here in this city, finally, you want to prioritize this plan?! You promised me-"

The old man quickly snatched the bottle from her hand, his grey eyes staring back at her full of fury. "Do not remind me of what I promised, _girl_. When I told you we would get them, I meant it. I want them to suffer just as much as you do. You will get what you want, but you will do it _my way_. Understand?"

Francine froze, her eyes burning as they grew wide and wet with tears. 

The old man glared for a moment longer, and then sighed wearily. His fingers twisted the bottle of whiskey open, and he took a quick swig of it with a satisfied grunt. "I'm sorry, my little owl. But I have told you time and again that patience is a virtue. Do you remember what I tell you every day?"

Francine sniffled, letting his thumbs wipe away her tears. "All-...All good things come to those who wait."

"Yes. And we've waited for quite some time, haven't we?"

Francine nodded, giving him a weak smile. The two of them both pulled each other into an embrace, her eyes tightly closed while his remained open, unsympathetic. Pulling away, he fell back into character, smiling down at her and patting her head. "There, there now. The time is almost here. We can wait a little while longer now, can't we?"

"Yes...yes, father."

"Good. Now, tell me about the boy Eileen was with. His name was Peter, was it?"

* * *

_Kick, punch, kick, kick._

_Punch, punch, kick, kick._

_Kick, kick....slam!_

Ellie groaned on the matted ground of the ring, losing yet another round against Steve. She had tried everything she could think of - grappling (failed), swiping at his legs (failed), trying to distract him by pointing at something random (you guessed it, failed). She had been trying to land a hit at least once on his body the past two weeks, but he was always way too fast. Too precise. Like he knew every move that she'd take before she had taken it. She thought by now he'd give her a break and let her tap him just a little bit. Just once so he could finally start training her and get this over with.

But she quickly learned. With someone like Mr. Rogers, you were either all in or out.

The man in questioned leaned over her, once again looking like he barely broke a sweat. "Food break?"

She tried to swipe her foot up, but he jumped back. "Oh, come on!" She huffed, sitting up. "Fine, fine! Food break is...great."

The mentor and mentee soon left the ring and took seats at the small table in their private warehouse. Opening the plastic bag that sat on her side of the table, Ellie's nose caught the whiff of Chinese food. Humming in delight, she grinned over at Steve. "Mr. Rogers, did you go out and grab these?"

Steve nodded, a smile on his face. "I figured you'd want some good food. I asked your brother what kind of food you liked, and he told me you really liked Chinese. I got you almond chicken and shrimp fried rice."

"Did anyone recognize you?"

Steve shook his head. "Wore a scarf over my face. Only so much a beard can do."

Ellie nodded, opening the box and quickly digging into her food. She was about halfway through her rice when she caught Steve staring at her. She slowly moved her fork away from her full mouth. "Mhat?"

"The way you're eating, you're gonna be too full to spar."

The teen quickly swallowed the food in her mouth, wiping her lips with the small white napkin that was in the same package as her utensils. "No, I'm not full! We can still-"

"I'm joking, Ellie," Steve chuckled. "I figured you had a big appetite. I remember how big mine got after the serum changed me."

Ellie leaned in, her hands flat on the table. "Really? What else changed?"

"Honestly? Everything."

"That's how I feel sometimes." Ellie pursed her lips, leaning back into her chair. "You ever...think about what would've happened? If you never took the serum, I mean."

Steve placed his fork down, tucking his hands underneath his chin in thought. It took him a few seconds to think, until he finally looked back into her warm yellow eyes. "I wouldn't be here, I suppose. In this time. I never would've seen the world for what it is now. I would've missed out on some pretty good food, for one." Ellie snickered at that. "And...I guess I never would've met the people in my life now. The ones that I'd protect. My friends."

Ellie smiled. "I guess that makes sense. I...never thought about it that way."

Steve looked at her inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you look at it so...positive? If I had a choice, I'm don't think I would've let those scientists Tanner talked about turn me into the way I am now. But then, when you say it like, it's like you're looking at the bright side of it. I try to, but...I don't know. It's hard sometimes."

"Well, think of it this way. If they didn't give you your wings, what do you think you would miss?"

Ellie shrugged. "A lot. A while back, I wouldn't have cared much. But now, you know, I have a good life. I'm here in New York City! Going to school, and I don't hate it as much as I thought I would. I got to meet the best Avenger - and don't say you're not the best, 'cause you are...next to Thor."

Steve snorted. "Sure."

"And I have friends! I've never had friends until a couple of months ago. A best friend too, that's really good. And...and..." Peter came into her mind, and her cheeks grew rosy. "And there's someone else."

"Oh?" Steve raised a brow. "And who would that be?"

"Um...a boy."

"Uh huh." Steve stared at her for a moment, and folded his arms. "What's his name?"

"Peter. Peter Parker."

She saw his eyes shift a bit, almost in surprise. He immediately begins to dig back into his food, making Ellie squint her eyes. "What's wrong, Mr. Rogers?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, do you know him? I mean, I know he has the Stark Internship so you've probably-"

"Stark Intern...oh, oh yeah. Right, of course." Steve clears his throat. "You know, that's confidential stuff. He told you about that?"

"Not much. He told me he went Germany once through it. Said he had a pretty great time, but some big dude beat him up when he found out he was a part of it. Oh, crap! Don't tell Mr. Stark that I told you that Peter told me about it! I really don't want to ruin things with him just yet. He's like the first boy I've ever-"

"No, Ellie, it's fine!" Steve smiled at her. But there was definitely more mirth behind it. "As long as he didn't tell you too much about it. You almost done with your food? Can't hit me if we're not back in the ring."

"Yeah...sure." Ellie sighed, stabbing her knife into a slice of chicken. They sat in silence for a few minutes, eating in peace. Until Ellie finally muttered, "What's the point though?"

Steve stopped. "What?"

"The point. Of keeping this going. I can't even hit you, Mr. Rogers. Maybe if we actually got started with the training-"

"Ellie. I was clear from the start. You have to hit me, or we don't start the training."

"But that's the thing! I _can't_ , Mr. Rogers! You're a freakin' Avenger! How am I supposed to hit you in the ring if you don't even give me a chance to?"

"Give you a-" Steve stopped himself, shaking his head. "Kid, you still don't understand why I'm doing this."

"Every single day, for the past two weeks, I've been sparring with you. And, every single day, I'm either face-planting or slammed on the ring. You're too strong _and_ too fast!"

"With the right training-"

"Exactly! We're in agreement, then. You should skip all of this preliminary crap and give me real training. Good talk!"

Steve sighed through his nose. "Eileen, there's things in training even I can't teach you. I didn't get like this with a mentor, I learned things on my own. I can't deny that it was with the serum's help, but your strengths are just as good as mine. Could be better when we finally start. But I know that you can find your own strength to."

"I. Can't."

"This isn't up for discussion. You either take the crookeds with the straights, or we can end this right here."

Ellie gaped at the super soldier, and let out an aggravated cross between a huff and whine while she folded her arms and glared down at her food. Steve pursed his lips, standing up. "Come on, food break's over."

"No."

Steve blinked, placing his hands on his hips. "Excuse me?"

"No."

"Get up."

"I. Said. No."

"Ellie, you're upset. I get that. This is good. Use it in the ring, let's go. Now."

Ellie slowly looked up at him with narrowed eyes, a vibrant shade of yellow glaring up at Steve. "Maybe you didn't hear me. You want me to say it in French?  _Non_."

Well, this was a surprise. The first time he had seen her act like this, frustrated and full of tension, was when they had first met. That was directed at her brother. Now, it seemed it was towards him. But, even as he saw her clenched fist tugged at the tablecloth, this was good. Just what he was looking for in the many hours that they've been fighting. Fury told him to watch her temper, but this was the only way he figured that she would stop holding back. But it wasn't without his own precautions for the girl. She was still a kid, and he worried a lot after her these last weeks. Steve almost hesitated to keep it going, but if he was really committing to this, then he was committing to it. Rolling his shoulders, he sighed wearily.

"Fine. I'll get you up myself."

When he moved to grab her, she quickly whipped away from his grasp and flipped her chair towards him.

Steve managed to dodge, but he could barely catch the pair of black glinted talons swiping towards his cheek. He had no choice but to keep backing away as Ellie continued to make swipes at him, eyes glinted with anger and teeth clenched and bared. She was backing him into a wall, but he quickly tucked and rolled out of the way of another swipe towards his chest. He heard the horrible scratch go through the bricked wall, but that didn't stop her from continuing her attempted rampage.

"You want to spar so damn bad, old man?!" Ellie exclaimed. "FINE!"

She grabbed a stool this time, and threw it in his direction. Steve grunted as he ducked out of the way, catching himself on his knee. He raised up, only to dodge a kick towards his face. The swipes and kicks kept coming, coming faster than he'd ever seen them before. Stronger, too. He felt the wind hitting his face from the force of her movements. And her eyes - those angry yellow eyes - were practically burning at him.

 _Burning_. _Raging_. Like. fire itself.

Steve let her glare get to him for a moment. That's all it took.

A simple misstep, nothing more nothing less. His foot had slipped too far behind him, and her leg caught him. The world went upside down as he felt the back of his head connect to the floor, instantly sending pain through his nerves. 

She had done it. She finally caught him off guard.

But she wasn't finished.

Her hands clasped his wrist violently, raising him up and pulling him close. Steve grunted in pain, and his eyes widened at the almost foreign look on her face. His eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Ellie's eyes were burning yellow and orange, the pupils in her eyes gone and the fury on her face ever present. "E-Ellie-"

" _We_. _Said_. _**No**_!"

With a final defiant refusal, a loud shriek emitted from Ellie's mouth as she shouted the word no. The power of its force sent him flying back, crashing into the wall behind him with a painful thud. The waves of it surrounded him, breaking the glass windows of the warehouse as the eagle-like shriek continued. Steve covered his ears, trying to protect them from the searing force of what was a ballistic screech. She continued for a few seconds, before her mouth closed and she fell to the floor. 

Steve took several deep breaths, uncovering his red pulsing ears to finally look at the destruction around him. Glass shards were everywhere, and in the middle of their circular gleam was Ellie. The sunset's fading light shined over her unconscious body. Her still, unconscious body.

"Ellie...god, no."

Steve quickly rose up, crying out as pain shot from his left leg. He tried not to think about it as he limped over to her and knelt down, taking the girl up into his arms. Looking her over, she didn't have any wounds or shards on her body. In fact, she looked like she was sleeping peacefully.

"Ellie! Ellie!" He called out to her. "Open your eyes, kid! Ellie!"

The girl below him slowly began to stir, her eyes fluttering open. Steve checked her eyes and sighed with relief. They were back to their normal color, a muted shade of yellow brown. "What...what happened? My head..."

"Hey, kiddo. You, uh...you remember anything?"

"No...ugh, I remember eating Chinese and...I think I got mad?"

"Yeah." Steve held it together, holding her a little tighter. "You did. Got so mad, you headbutted me in the head."

"I did?" Ellie rubbed her forehead and whined. "Oh, Mr. Rogers! I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no! You did good. It's what I've been waiting for you to do. But uh, you surprised and scared the hell out of me. So, let's not try doing anything that reckless again okay?"

Ellie groaned, but nodded. "Y-Yeah. I promise, nothing too nuts."

Steve nodded right back to her, and then the next thing Ellie knew, he had pulled her into his arms in a tight hug. It was very comforting, almost like her big brother's hugs. Burly and warm. "Good. How else am I gonna train you if you're out of commission?"

It finally clicked in Ellie's head. Moving back from Steve, her wide almond shaped eyes blinked at him. "I...I hit you."

"Yeah."

"I really hit you."

"That's right."

"...YES! Yes, yes, yes! Ow, ow, ow, head. Head still hurts. But I'm so happy! I finally got you!" Ellie laughed, holding her head with a wide grin. "Looks like you were waiting for me to stop fighting you in the ring, right?"

Steve nodded. "Exactly my thoughts. You did good, kid. Now the real training begins."

The teen whooped, but instantly held her head once again. Steve helped her get up, his leg no longer in pain. As he began to help her lay down on the futon towards the back of the warehouse, they each had two different expressions on their faces. Ellie was grinning like the canary who evaded the cat, and Steve's concerned stare stayed above her head.

Fury was going to want to hear about this.

 


End file.
